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Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Over Apple's Location Tracking in iOS

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U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh has dismissed a privacy lawsuit against Apple alleging that the company was collecting location data through iPhones and iPads even when the devices' geo-location data was turned off, reports Reuters. Koh found that the plaintiffs had not adequately shown that they relied on Apple's alleged misrepresentations, writing in her ruling:
Plaintiffs must be able to provide some evidence that they saw one or more of Apple's alleged misrepresentations, that they actually relied on those misrepresentations, and that they were harmed thereby.
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The plaintiffs alleged that Apple was collecting location data in violation of its own privacy policy and also claimed Apple lured them into spending more money on their devices than they would have if they had known about the sort of data that Apple had been collecting.

The case is one part of a nationwide litigation that combines 19 related lawsuits. This specific lawsuit was first filed in 2011 and was one of the first of many lawsuits against Apple and other tech companies regarding location data and privacy.

Concerns regarding location data have have ramped up in recent months following news of a U.S. government program called PRISM allowing the National Security Agency direct access to user data on corporate servers from Internet companies like Apple, Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Facebook and more. Since then, Apple and other companies have reiterated statements on customer privacy.

Article Link: Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Over Apple's Location Tracking in iOS
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/11/27/judge-dismisses-lawsuit-over-apples-location-tracking-in-ios/
djtech42

djtech42

macrumors 65816
Jun 23, 2012
1,447
56
Mason, OH
"Oh yes they do. We don't track anyone. The info circulating around is false." -Steve Jobs

Was there any proof that the data left the device?

Now we know it was development of the "Frequent Locations" feature.
 
K

KPOM

macrumors P6
Oct 23, 2010
18,030
7,870
iLoveiTunes said:
Judge Koh is on fire TBH....:cool:
Click to expand...

On a side note, how does she wind up on all these cases involving Apple? She seems to be a pretty fair judge but if she weren't I could completely see how it could negatively impact the company.
 
Illusion986

Illusion986

macrumors 6502
Mar 12, 2009
354
3
Privacy soon will be a myth and out great grandchildren will read stories about the last generation that got to see it.
 
B

batchtaster

macrumors 65816
Mar 3, 2008
1,031
217
MacRumors said:
also claimed Apple lured them into spending more money on their devices than they would have if they had known about the sort of data that Apple had been collecting.
Click to expand...

Wait... whut?
"Apple tracked my commute to work, so I had to buy a case for my iPad, power-ups for Angry Birds, and a used chemical toilet from a guy on eBay."
 
B

bondsbw

macrumors member
Sep 7, 2006
85
37
batchtaster said:
Wait... whut?
"Apple tracked my commute to work, so I had to buy a case for my iPad, power-ups for Angry Birds, and a used chemical toilet from a guy on eBay."
Click to expand...

Or, you know, they bought an Apple device assuming it would not present a privacy concern; otherwise, they might have bought another manufacturer's device.
 
P

proline

macrumors 6502a
Nov 18, 2012
630
1
bondsbw said:
Or, you know, they bought an Apple device assuming it would not present a privacy concern; otherwise, they might have bought another manufacturer's device.
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If that's the case, they should have to prove that the Apple device actually did present a privacy concern, that there were more private alternatives, and that they would have selected such an alternative were it not for the allegedly false statement Apple made. They have not proven any of the three necessary postulates.
 
T

Terrin

macrumors 6502
Apr 5, 2011
430
1
bondsbw said:
Or, you know, they bought an Apple device assuming it would not present a privacy concern; otherwise, they might have bought another manufacturer's device.
Click to expand...

Like who? Please do not say any Android manufacturer.
 
T

Tech198

Cancelled
Mar 21, 2011
15,915
2,151
Misrepresentations over mis-reprensations ?. Lol
classic..

Then again, how can you prove, which may not exsistt?

I even said Location Service may be collecting data, even when Off,

Doesn't mean i'm right.

This could juse be a case that ends up in the trascan.
 
K

Kr00

Suspended
Jul 21, 2012
45
0
If this law suit got up, then every Telco across the country would be violating privacy laws, as they use IMEI number tracking to allow signal triangulation when switching cell towers. But it was Apple, wasn't it. The Lawsuit cash cow.
 
gnasher729

gnasher729

Suspended
Nov 25, 2005
17,980
5,565
bjsterilite said:
With no proof, what did the plaintiff really expect the court to do...?
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No, proof is the second step. The first step is that you have to _allege_ facts that if they were true would mean you win the case. That's what they didn't manage to do. You can't just sue because… You have to actually say what the "because" is.

----------
AppleMark said:
Privacy is already a myth.

The minute you enabled locations settings, GPS on your device and signed in to iCloud (or similar), you lost all of your privacy.
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That's nonsense. With GPS enabled, your device knows where it is. Just as you do. As long as you and the device don't tell anybody, you're fine.

Of course, there are people who refuse to tell a merchant their home address because they are concerned about privacy, and then they wonder why the merchant refuses to deliver to their home…

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proline said:
If that's the case, they should have to prove that the Apple device actually did present a privacy concern, that there were more private alternatives, and that they would have selected such an alternative were it not for the allegedly false statement Apple made. They have not proven any of the three necessary postulates.
Click to expand...

Well, the whole case back then was total nonsense in the first place.

When a device uses WiFi to determine its location, it _has_ to send the IDs of WiFi hotspots to a server, which then determines the location, and reports the location back to the device. Clearly, if Apple wanted to track your location, _that_ is the point where they would track it, and you would never know about it.

What happened was that instead of telling you your location once, and again and again as you drive around, Apple gives you your location, but also the location if WiFi hotspots nearby. So when you drive along, your phone itself knows where it is instead of having to ask Apple again. Some of this information was stored on your device, and that is what someone found.

So some people assumed that Apple is tracking you, not by recording what information your device sends to Apple, but by storing information coming from Apple on your device where Apple cannot actually read it.
 
Grohowiak

Grohowiak

macrumors 6502a
Nov 14, 2012
768
793
Germany is now removing all apple devices from gov institutions due to poor security reasons.
Reuters and Bloomberg few days ago if you want to look for the article.

Thing is we all know it :)
Whoever believes he's using a "secure" device needs a doctor.
 
S

shaunp

Cancelled
Nov 5, 2010
1,811
1,395
You have a choice

If you want privacy, ditch your mobile, stay off the internet, rent a property from someone who doesn't ask questions and work for cash in hand - even then, you'd have to pay bills so there would be some trace. Even Richard Stallman hasn't gone quite that far and it seems to me that he's having a fairly odd existence trying to embrace technology but on his own terms not the manufacturers.

It doesn't make it right that our privacy is been eroded daily, but there's not a great deal we can do about it given that we always choose convenience first.
 
A

Aadhil

macrumors regular
Aug 4, 2009
236
0
California
Grohowiak said:
Germany is now removing all apple devices from gov institutions due to poor security reasons.
Reuters and Bloomberg few days ago if you want to look for the article.

Thing is we all know it :)
Whoever believes he's using a "secure" device needs a doctor.
Click to expand...

Maybe you should take reading comprehension classes. Germany is phasing out iPhones at a government level because their custom encryption software is incompatible with iOS software. Not Apple's fault.
 
K

kcmac

macrumors 6502
May 22, 2002
472
9
Grohowiak said:
Germany is now removing all apple devices from gov institutions due to poor security reasons.
Reuters and Bloomberg few days ago if you want to look for the article.

Thing is we all know it :)
Whoever believes he's using a "secure" device needs a doctor.
Click to expand...
Try getting past the headlines.
 
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