Apple fired the father of the viral YouTuber

[Ghost31]

I also worked for a company that worked on rich media ads for Apple but they were not products specific, so we didn’t have any type of tight security like this.

I wasn’t involved with these projects directly but we all knew the work was being done. It wasn’t a big secret. I remember one day a bunch of developers were all excited because Steve Jobs apparently joined a conference call with us and the ad agency to voice his displeasure. He basically yelled at everyone. They all loved it.

Ah man. I would kill to have Steve Jobs come back to life and yell at me

 

[Ghost31]

Exactly-and this video of her explaining the situation is another attention grab. I don’t wish misfortune on anyone, but they walked right into this one...

I love how she starts off talking about her “so I didn’t know it would go viral. “ and then proceeds to introduce herself and tell us about HER rather than just the situation

 

[thadoggfather]

I think people are being overly critical

She's crying from being called things on the internet. And wasn't aware an unreleased hyped iPhone would garner attention and viralness. Clearly not a mature thought out person. And presumably young. But not malicious intentioned as far as I can tell. And roundabout remorseful for what happened to her dad but he was complicit too. Also might have never suspected she'd upload it

We were all young once

In the end We got to see two minutes of X footage and no surprises were spoiled since this was announced.

I wonder if the apple cafeteria really pissed off apple. And association of the engineer recorded on film who associated his face with the hands on.

don't think that area (cafeteria) or any campus area can be filmed either? That might be another NDA violation.

 

[bambooshots]

Potential to happen? So, it’s a Minority Report now? Corporations want to protect intellectual property. I get it, but what actual damage was done?

I just don’t see it. Someone said a contract was violated and he was fired. Ok, that’s fair. I can see a technical reason here but this still doesn’t make it the best business decision in my opinion.

This is THE best business decision for Apple.

What if some classified Apple Intel had been leaked to their competitors? Potential Loss of hundreds of millions or billions of dollars of IP is no laughing matter.

That's why there are rules.

 

[Leica Dad]

If you ever saw these agreements, you wouldn't think it was an innocent mistake. It was a gross violation.

Unfortunately that's just how the Internet is - it's been like that forever, even when it was alt.newsgroups.

It was a violation, but I think the misunderstanding can be the wording. He might have honestly thought once after the announcement it was okay. They did the whole filming inside the Apple cafeteria, where there are many other Apple employees around, it’s not they they were trying to sneak out something secretly.
If he was more careful and consult a superior before it, he will still be working there. Like I said, he paid the price, she learned her lesson.

 

[jetydosa]

The real question is, was the apology video filmed on an X???

 

[flat five]

He might have honestly thought once after the announcement it was okay.

yeah.. while he was obviously mistaken, i really think he thought it was ok to show the phone since it had already been announced and demoed..

i mean, he's been working on this thing for years.. during times when secrecy was far more important to the company and he obviously didn't leak then.. just like he thought he wasn't leaking or doing a malicious act now.

 

[acorntoy]

I’m not sure how they were unaware of the rules. Even we know it was against Apple policy. Also, she should be the one taking responsibility since she’s the one who made the video and posted it.

Honestly. My family knows somebody who helps design the processors, whenever a new product is coming up, anything gets talked about -except- Apple or Apple related things to remove even the slightest chance that any info will get out to anybody, because they know it’ll be their job if any gets out.

 

[Bako-MacAddict]

I felt bad.Apple is sure making a point. I feel like Apple made this decision to prove a point, that way no other employee drops the ball like that or even think about it.

 

[myscrnnm]

yeah.. while he was obviously mistaken, i really think he thought it was ok to show the phone since it had already been announced and demoed..

i mean, he's been working on this thing for years.. during times when secrecy was far more important to the company and he obviously didn't leak then.. just like he thought he wasn't leaking or doing a malicious act now.

Looking at this excerpt from the The Verge article, it's possible he wasn't terminated for showing off the phone itself, but the possible dissemination of classified information:

"The video itself may have seemed like an innocent hands-on, but it did include footage of an iPhone X with special employee-only QR codes. A notes app was also shown on the iPhone X in the video, which appeared to include codenames of unreleased Apple products. Filming on Apple’s campus is strictly prohibited, so filming an unreleased iPhone X is a definite rule violation."

It's a lot harder to argue that he was not aware of those policies.

 

[lordofthereef]

It's easy for us to judge from the outside looking in. The dad did indeed seem complicit, or at least aware of what was going on based on the video. Most of the internet chatter was people thinking this was a marketing tactic from Apple. We now know that wasn't the case. I couldn't tell you how I feel about the father's termination. I am sure I don't have enough information to really judge one way or the other.

 

[WilliamG]

No matter what this young lady or her father did or did not do, a great deal of people here should be ashamed of themselves.

 

[alee]

It was a violation, but I think the misunderstanding can be the wording. He might have honestly thought once after the announcement it was okay

Sorry, I know you don’t know me from anybody, but that agreement is very clear and there is no way you’d be under any sort of misunderstanding of what it means to be allowed to carry a device, and what your responsibilities are, which continue until first customer shipment (FCS). FCS is a key milestone used for any consumer product (not just Apple) and the confidentiality isn’t just a contract on a piece of paper... you are reminded of it frequently. In some companies even company-issued prototypes cannot be shown after FCS. You typically have to exchange them for production units - prototypes are promptly destroyed as they may contain poor product tolerances or engineering components that didn’t make it to production. They could be considered to misrepresent the consumer version otherwise.

 

[Mr. Dee]

This is likely a wealthy engineer. If interns are making 7k per month, he probably was making 10 times that . Probably has a lot of Apple stock and money saved up; and who knows, after 4 years working at Apple he might have had enough. Didn't expect it to go this way, but maybe new opportunities are lined up.

 

[THFourteen]

I’m always amazed at how harsh people are. She’s a kid she made a mistake. I made so many mistakes as a kid and even now as an adult.

Have some humanity folks.

 

[myscrnnm]

I’m always amazed at how harsh people are. She’s a kid she made a mistake. I made so many mistakes as a kid and even now as an adult.

Have some humanity folks.

Everyone makes mistakes. That doesn't mean there aren't consequences. Also some mistakes are greater than others. This one falls somewhere between lying about eating the last cookie in the pantry and murdering an innocent bystander.

 

[alee]

I’m always amazed at how harsh people are. She’s a kid she made a mistake. I made so many mistakes as a kid and even now as an adult.

Have some humanity folks.

I believe she’s in her mid-20s. Unfortunately sometimes mistakes cost a lot - in this case it cost her father his job. Dad let it happen but she also didn’t pay attention to what she agreed to when she got that visitor badge.

 

[Hoosier317]

I’m always amazed at how harsh people are. She’s a kid she made a mistake. I made so many mistakes as a kid and even now as an adult.

Have some humanity folks.

She's isn't a kid. She's a college graduate. I believe she's married. She's lived some life. She's an adult. Regardless, I don't blame her for the first video. The fault for that one lands squarely on her father's shoulders. He absolutely should have known better. As far as the second video...yeesh...cringe-worthy. She should have simply moved on and not revisited the issue. To vlog about it further doesn't help anyone involved, unless she is seeking attention for herself.

 

[AZhappyjack]

I guess that answers the question of whether the original video was a marketing ploy.

I have no problem with what Apple did. The guy broke the NDA, and thus, he earned his firing.

 

[trsblader]

From her videos only getting a couple hundred views a year to one video getting over 300k in a few hours. Disabled comments and ratings so future viewers would still feel bad for her. Racking up that ad money!

 

[Mr. Dee]

If one of Steve Jobs daughters had done this when he was alive, would they fire him?

 

[artfossil]

m always amazed at how harsh people are. She’s a kid she made a mistake. I made so many mistakes as a kid and even now as an adult

Mid-twenties is not a kid.

 

[Hoosier317]

If one of Steve Jobs daughters had done this when he was alive, would they fire him?

...the CEO of the company is likely to be one of the only people with the authority to do something like this. They wouldn't though. They are more intelligent than that. That's why they were named as the CEO by the Board of Directors. This numbskull clearly didn't rise to that level for a reason and didn't honor his NDA.

 

[Technarchy]

Mid-twenties is not a kid.

That’s a kid from my perspective.

Either way, it’s adult consequences and a learning moment. The private sector is brutal, and this was a stupid and easily avoided mistake.

 

[rainafterthesun]

No matter what this young lady or her father did or did not do, a great deal of people here should be ashamed of themselves.

So you’re here to tell people they should be ashamed of themselves? What’s that saying about not pointing fingers lest three is pointing back at you?

This is likely a wealthy engineer. If interns are making 7k per month, he probably was making 10 times that . Probably has a lot of Apple stock and money saved up; and who knows, after 4 years working at Apple he might have had enough. Didn't expect it to go this way, but maybe new opportunities are lined up.

Actually, engineers get paid decent, 6 figures for sure. Interns get paid that much because it’s short lived and no pay increase based on the initial base. It’s a way to make them see x company as a great place to work once they graduate. But I double he made 10x or 70,000 a month.

I’m always amazed at how harsh people are. She’s a kid she made a mistake. I made so many mistakes as a kid and even now as an adult.

Have some humanity folks.

You know, if it was that first video where she’s just vlogging her day, I woulda been like, oh this naive kid. Whatever. She’s got a bit of attitude (lulu is actually a clothing brand as well so shortening Lululemon to Lulu is a bit silly and let’s face it, anthro is more for her moms age then hers BUT they are rather generous with their sizing, xs fits like a s or m, so it’s always a feel good spot, especially after lunch).

But the fact that even after this happens, she has the same “attitude” and takes no responsibility whatsoever for it and says her dad takes full responsibility? You don’t have to be in your fifties to be deemed “the adult responsible”.

If she had a lesson learned kind of video follow up, I would probably have a bit more “humanity” for her.