The big picture: Apple has long been a strong advocate of privacy as a fundamental human right, which is reflected in services like Apple Intelligence and Private Relay. However, an Apple employee claims none of the company’s privacy protections extend to its staff and is now taking the matter to court.

Apple faces a new lawsuit alleging the company spied on its employees by monitoring their activities on personal devices and iCloud accounts. According to Semafor, the suit was filed Sunday in a California state court by Apple employee Amar Bhakta. It claims that Apple routinely conducts “physical, video, and electronic surveillance” of employees working from home and that this invasive surveillance continues even after individuals leave the company.

Bhakta, who has worked on Apple’s ad tech since 2020 and leads a team of seven professionals, further alleges that Apple has weaponized its privacy policies in a way that violates California law. For example, he claims Apple tried to silence him when he spoke publicly about digital advertising and even forced him to edit his LinkedIn profile to remove details about his role at the company.

This is not the first time that Apple has faced accusations of espionage on the devices of its employees. According to the lawsuit, Apple provides company-issued hardware and work-only iCloud accounts but actively discourages employees from using them. Instead, the company encourages setting up work devices with personal accounts, which could give Apple access to non-work activities.

That said, several factors suggest that the case may not stand up to scrutiny. On the one hand, Bhakta could have protected his privacy by using a work-only iCloud account. Additionally, there is no concrete evidence that Apple wants to monitor the personal lives of its employees. It’s also possible that the information Bhakta shared on LinkedIn included details that Apple considers trade secrets or misrepresentations about internal company matters.

Interestingly, Bhakta is represented by Jahan Saga of Outer & Golden and Chris Baker of Baker Dolinko & Schwartz, both veteran attorneys who specialize in cases against companies accused of mistreating their employees. Baker notably represented Susan Fowler in her high-profile case against Uber involving sexual harassment and discrimination under former CEO Travis Kalanick.

Image credit: Niels Epting