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Canadian Law Firm Applies for Class Action Lawsuit Over FaceTime Bug
Montréal-based law firm Lambert Avocat Inc. has applied for a class action lawsuit against Apple with the Superior Court of Québec, seeking compensation for all persons exposed to a major FaceTime privacy bug that enabled users to eavesdrop on the people they call, according to its website.
The proposed lawsuit seeks compensation for all Canadians who used FaceTime on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 12.1 or later, or a Mac running macOS Mojave 10.4.1 or later, in their possession.
This is the first pending class action lawsuit against Apple we know of in relation to the FaceTime bug. An earlier lawsuit filed by a lawyer in Houston, who claimed the bug allowed an unknown person to listen in on sworn testimony, did not seek class action status according to the court document we reviewed.
Due to the serious privacy implications of the FaceTime bug, there may be more class action lawsuits to follow in the United States and elsewhere.
Widely publicized on Monday, the FaceTime bug allowed one person to call another person via FaceTime, slide up on the interface and enter their own phone number, and automatically gain access to audio from the other person's device without that person accepting the call. In some cases, even video was accessible.
We recorded a demonstration of the bug earlier this week:
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Apple disabled Group FaceTime as a temporary server-side solution, preventing the bug from working any longer, while it prepares a software update with a permanent fix that will be released "later this week."
It was later reported that Apple may have known about the bug for over a week before it made headlines, something New York government officials are investigating. Apple has yet to provide further comment about the bug beyond promising a software update, but we'll be sure to provide updates as we learn more.
Update: MacRumors has uploaded a copy of the application submitted to the Superior Court of Québec.
The proposed lawsuit seeks compensation for all Canadians who used FaceTime on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 12.1 or later, or a Mac running macOS Mojave 10.4.1 or later, in their possession.
This is the first pending class action lawsuit against Apple we know of in relation to the FaceTime bug. An earlier lawsuit filed by a lawyer in Houston, who claimed the bug allowed an unknown person to listen in on sworn testimony, did not seek class action status according to the court document we reviewed.
Due to the serious privacy implications of the FaceTime bug, there may be more class action lawsuits to follow in the United States and elsewhere.
Widely publicized on Monday, the FaceTime bug allowed one person to call another person via FaceTime, slide up on the interface and enter their own phone number, and automatically gain access to audio from the other person's device without that person accepting the call. In some cases, even video was accessible.
We recorded a demonstration of the bug earlier this week:
Apple disabled Group FaceTime as a temporary server-side solution, preventing the bug from working any longer, while it prepares a software update with a permanent fix that will be released "later this week."
It was later reported that Apple may have known about the bug for over a week before it made headlines, something New York government officials are investigating. Apple has yet to provide further comment about the bug beyond promising a software update, but we'll be sure to provide updates as we learn more.
Update: MacRumors has uploaded a copy of the application submitted to the Superior Court of Québec.
[ 55 comments ]
Top Rated Comments
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9 months ago
One bug from Apple and everybody goes crazy. Meanwhile Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft brazenly harvest your data and nobody bats an eyelid.
If people are going after Apple as they are, I can’t see how the other companies aren’t facing daily scrutiny.
Yeah it’s a really bad bug but it’s disappointing to see these double-standards. Shows that people are more interested in making money from a lawsuit than actually giving a damn about people’s privacy.
If people are going after Apple as they are, I can’t see how the other companies aren’t facing daily scrutiny.
Yeah it’s a really bad bug but it’s disappointing to see these double-standards. Shows that people are more interested in making money from a lawsuit than actually giving a damn about people’s privacy.
9 months ago
The Slimey ambulance chasing lawyers are going into a feeding frenzy trying to make a buck because they can't hack it as a real lawyer.
9 months ago
I am all for a settlement if...
1. It is PROVEN that actual harm was experienced...
2. It is proven that apple was knowingly negligent in creating and/or responding to the bug...
3. Lawyers are forced to pay the bill if it is demonstrated that they are simply seeking $$$ where no real harm was experienced.
Otherwise, unfounded lawsuits do nothing but hurt the average consumer. Maybe we can start a class action suit against the lawyers...
1. It is PROVEN that actual harm was experienced...
2. It is proven that apple was knowingly negligent in creating and/or responding to the bug...
3. Lawyers are forced to pay the bill if it is demonstrated that they are simply seeking $$$ where no real harm was experienced.
Otherwise, unfounded lawsuits do nothing but hurt the average consumer. Maybe we can start a class action suit against the lawyers...
9 months ago
The proposed lawsuit seeks compensation for all Canadians who used FaceTime on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 12.1 or later, or a Mac running macOS Mojave 10.4.1 or later, in their possession.
What ever happened to at least the pretense of damages having occurred? This sounds so much like someone heard the words "Apple" and "Bug" and didn't bother to listen any further.
9 months ago
I wonder what harm the members of the class action lawsuit have suffered for them to be part of the lawsuit.
9 months ago
If you choose to willingly use any of these devices these days doesn't the EULA say something about there might be issues that come up and the company that made the devices are not liable if something breaks? Its a software bug, its not like the phone batter ignited and burned anyone...
7.2 YOU EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY
APPLICABLE LAW, USE OF THE iOS SOFTWARE AND ANY SERVICES PERFORMED BY OR
ACCESSED THROUGH THE iOS SOFTWARE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK AND THAT THE ENTIRE RISK AS
TO SATISFACTORY QUALITY, PERFORMANCE, ACCURACY AND EFFORT IS WITH YOU.
7.3 TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE iOS SOFTWARE AND
SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE”, WITH ALL FAULTS AND WITHOUT
WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, AND APPLE AND APPLE’S LICENSORS (COLLECTIVELY REFERRED TO
AS “APPLE” FOR THE PURPOSES OF SECTIONS 7 AND 8) HEREBY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES
AND CONDITIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE iOS SOFTWARE AND SERVICES, EITHER EXPRESS,
IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND/OR
CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE, ACCURACY, QUIET ENJOYMENT, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS.
And more fun stuff in the iOS SLA https://www.apple.com/legal/sla/docs/iOS12.pdf
7.2 YOU EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY
APPLICABLE LAW, USE OF THE iOS SOFTWARE AND ANY SERVICES PERFORMED BY OR
ACCESSED THROUGH THE iOS SOFTWARE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK AND THAT THE ENTIRE RISK AS
TO SATISFACTORY QUALITY, PERFORMANCE, ACCURACY AND EFFORT IS WITH YOU.
7.3 TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE iOS SOFTWARE AND
SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE”, WITH ALL FAULTS AND WITHOUT
WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, AND APPLE AND APPLE’S LICENSORS (COLLECTIVELY REFERRED TO
AS “APPLE” FOR THE PURPOSES OF SECTIONS 7 AND 8) HEREBY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES
AND CONDITIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE iOS SOFTWARE AND SERVICES, EITHER EXPRESS,
IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND/OR
CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE, ACCURACY, QUIET ENJOYMENT, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS.
And more fun stuff in the iOS SLA https://www.apple.com/legal/sla/docs/iOS12.pdf
9 months ago
What strange times we live in where an accidental software bug leads to numerous class action suits in different jurisdictions. It feels like suing your power company if there's a power outage.
Can someone get a class action up and running against Facebook for the willful disclosure of customer data without consent?
Can someone get a class action up and running against Facebook for the willful disclosure of customer data without consent?
9 months ago
I missed the part where Apple promised to never have an error in their human written code and would therefore be liable for such.
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