Employee Claims Apple Has Threatened Termination Over Viral TikTok Video

[wigby]

The biggest mistake what she had done is that she used tiktok.

So the biggest mistake to spread information is to use the biggest platform in the world? Where do you get your news? Local bars?

 

[icanhazmac]

Where do you get your news?

Certainly not from TikTok!

 

[StellarVixen]

Read your contract. Most salaried employees are 'owned' more or less. They are on the clock 24/7 if they are doing anything to do with their company work.

If she develops software for Apple, she's not allowed to develop software for another company without Apple approval. You can't work at an Apple Store, then give advice about Apple products on TikTok without Apple approval.

I said I could understand if she gave away a trade secret or did something similar that would endanger the Apple. All she did was saying “don’t give your iCloud password to thieves” and suddenly there is a huge problem (totally made up and unnecessary).

And…defending such behavior of these companies is a story for another day.

 

[Supermike]

there's a lot of anger in your post. who hurt you? 😂 People post stuff on social media. welcome to 2022. Your last paragraph is basically nonsense as it's entirely made of assumptions. "he likely re-thought his position and that's why nothing further was done". You even assumed the gender of the manager. the situation hasn't ended and it's still being investigated based on her last posted video.

One thing I will agree with you on and a few people have mentioned, if she has earlier videos of her saying bad things about customers and now she has specifically said she works for apple then that's grounds for her to go.

Nobody 'hurt' me, and there's no anger. Just frustration with how the dumbest stuff on tiktok becomes 'news' now. I could easily ignore this, but I saw this on multiple sources this morning. Why?? Because some 'persons' manager said 'don't do this' and 'he/she/they/them/who/we/you/us' (wouldn't want to assume anything) addressed it and then backed away? BTW, I didn't assume anything previously -- it was in reference to another statement/article that indicated it/them/they was a male.

BUT, I do think she took a non-situation and made it some kind of national news story to make herself look better and to make Apple look bad, and now her previous videos will come into view. She threw gas on a small spark. Most people in such situation would have just said 'my bad' and removed the video. Don't bite the hand that feeds you. 🙊

 

[whack3r24]

You may choose to believe as you wish and try to back me into a corner. I have read in multiple places and been told by two people I know who work in Cupertino that policy was broken. Their information is good enough for me. Not my problem if it isn't enough for you.

Feel free to call Tim Cook for clarification. I am sure he would be glad to speak to you about it. Have fun arguing with yourself!

Not trying to back you into a corner and I admit my instant response came across as overly defensive of the situation but i am genuinely interested as it seems things may have changed since I worked there and you said you know an apple executive (or 2?) who work in Cupertino and have read in multiple places that what she did violates policy. All I'm asking is what the policy states. But if asking that rattles you then apologies👍

 

[whack3r24]

Nobody 'hurt' me, and there's no anger. Just frustration with how the dumbest stuff on tiktok becomes 'news' now. I could easily ignore this, but I saw this on multiple sources this morning. Why?? Because some 'persons' manager said 'don't do this' and 'he/she/they/them/who/we/you/us' (wouldn't want to assume anything) addressed it and then backed away? BTW, I didn't assume anything previously -- it was in reference to another statement/article that indicated it/them/they was a male.

BUT, I do think she took a non-situation and made it some kind of national news story to make herself look better and to make Apple look bad, and now her previous videos will come into view. She threw gas on a small spark. Most people in such situation would have just said 'my bad' and removed the video. Don't bite the hand that feeds you. 🙊

So essentially your reasons for calling her an "attention-wh*re" (which screams calmness and tranquillity btw) is because she posted a video, went viral, was spread by media outlets all of which was out of her control? It sounds like your non-anger should be directed at the people and media who helped promote it.

Should probably come to terms with how the media functions. 1. Biased political views. 2. Stuff about celebs doing everyday things. 3. Need more content so let's spread some clickbait stuff. I'd say anything that can be considered an "apple scandal" covers that.

 

[cicalinarrot]

It may sound mean but I'm with Apple, frankly. All the way.
Apple is very strict about how they handle communication and support, they have official channels with very precise information, delivered in a very specific way and going around saying you're an Apple employee and giving advice is out of those channels.
Anybody who has ever seen how strict they are even about how employees are supposed to greet customers know that.

And those channels exist for reasons:
1) it changes the (absurdly precious and costly) image of the company.
2) content might have been useful in this case but it wasn't checked by anybody who's responsible about this stuff so it could have been wrong as well, that's why they just want to cut it.

What if more people at Apple did this? Wouldn't it be like Apple itself giving users a semi-official way of getting this kind of information?
If the information was misleading or wrong, the right thing to do was fire her right away, of course. It wasn't so it would have been stupid to fire her but saying "stop it or we fix it by firing you" sounds hard but ultimately acceptable.

And I don't even think Apple is being overcontrolling, it's just what companies do. They have policies about how employee communicate with users and they want them to be respected.
It's pretty superficial of a long time employee to ignore it (or pretend to ignore it). Apple's communication is not some more content for your channel, it's a pretty serious business with serious rules. And when you break a serious rule, you face consequences, no matter how good an employee you've been.

The fact that she even complained publicly about it proves she's not understanding the problem or taking it seriously, she's making it just another social-network controversy. Pretty kiddish to me. And maybe the worst thing she's done, she's just leaving the problem to the judgement of her fans.
Apple may just think their policies are more important for the success of the company than she is, despite the bad publicity she may provide. If they fire her now, I'd still understand Apple. Wish they don't, of course, I have nothing against her, but I'd understand them.

 

[Weasel13]

Has anybody actually seen this company policy that an employee can't admit they are an employee?
That would be a hell of a thing... Are people really okay with this level of corporate control?!? Wow!!!
What next, your old car makes Apple look bad? Your scruffy dog makes Apple look bad? Your lawn makes Apple look bad?
So far, the only one that has made Apple look bad is one low level manager. Perhaps their employment status should be reviewed?

 

[Supermike]

So essentially your reasons for calling her an "attention-wh*re" (which screams calmness and tranquillity btw) is because she posted a video, went viral, was spread by media outlets all of which was out of her control? It sounds like your non-anger should be directed at the people and media who helped promote it.

Should probably come to terms with how the media functions. 1. Biased political views. 2. Stuff about celebs doing everyday things. 3. Need more content so let's spread some clickbait stuff. I'd say anything that can be considered an "apple scandal" covers that.

I'm calling a spade a spade. Why does the term 'attention wh*re' work you up so much? A couple of hallmarks of this behavior are as follows:
- being controversial to provoke a reaction.
- exaggerating and embellishing stories to gain praise or sympathy.

Seems pretty on-point to me.

In terms of 'how the media functions', I won't go down that road. You are correct, however. Most media today -- and especially social media -- is hot garbage that carries little actual value. I've already given this topic FAR more of my life minutes than it deserves (fortunately I can multi-task). That doesn't mean I have to LIKE it, though. And when I see people defend this person's videos as something that actually carries value, from an Apple discussion perspective (which is why we are here, right?), I feel like I then have as much right to present my opinions of distaste over the whole matter as she does to post her videos. I do believe my perspective would be at least 98.2% likely to differ from the perspective of the tiktoker.

 

[I7guy]

Why they don’t fire the other ones who has their Twitter media full of crap and Apple employment on their title?

Please email tcook@apple.com for instant justice.

 

[TinyMito]

What is TikTok?

 

[ian87w]

"for the last six years I've been a certified hardware engineer for a certain company that likes to talk a lot about fruit."

That is not explicit enough for you? It left you confused as to where she worked? You seem confused as to what is going on here. This has nothing to do with her noble intentions and from your post I get that you think that is entirely what it is about and that she is being punished for trying to do good. "Good grief," that is so not what it is about.

She broke explicit company policy and then went public with her complaints when Apple notified her. Termination is appropriate. She may be a very good engineer, but she is not very smart at all. Any chance she had of getting off with just a note to her file and a simple admonishment went out the window when she went public after her manager notified her.

What I see in so many of the comments is not a lack of compassion or caring or understanding. There is a lot of that and I commend it. But there is huge lack of experience as managers and understanding setting and executing policy as well as the true cost of exceptions. I don't think many of the posters have experience on the management or executive side of a large tech operation.

I believe the issue was the reprimand she first got for... helping a customer, in a sense. I mean what was that for?

 

[braintumor]

The initial reprimand was probably an overreaction by a numpty manager at Apple, but her followup criticising them publicly will be what gets her fired.

Absolutely agree with this ... The issue with her manager should have been handled internally and she should have escalated this higher up, not publicly on social media. This was very unprofessional from her side and breaks the trust relationship between employer and employee and will definitely get her fired.

I think the millions of likes got over her head and she acted out of impulse with that second video.

 

[oldwatery]

If she is so good at her social stuff quit the job and do it. I don’t understand her surprise at her managers reprimand or her foolish response. Another entitled Tik Tok User.

 

[NufSaid]

Things are different now. You have to deal with lawsuits and lawyers constantly with companies like this. He did identify himself as an employee and broke the rules.

Deal with the consequences.

I have several NDA and other rules like this I have to operate under and I would love to tell the world about some of the stuff but can't - follow the rules you agreed to.

 

[braintumor]

This is exactly the way the Wall Street parasites and vampire squids that are increasingly populating the C-Suite at Apple want things. They run the company in a culture of fear, and milk it for everything its worth, including its workplace reputation. They will use that “former reputation“ to mask the real reputation. Those parasites infiltrate the creative and innovative suites within and systematicly destroy them by sucking all the life and oxygen out of the air.

So get used to it Apple affectionado‘s - welcome to the new Apple that is designed from the Wall Street boardroom down with the culture of fear being the primary driver of motivation… check back in about 5 years to see how that worked out for them.

I get where you are coming from and your idealistic world view, also I fully agree that the manager that reprimanded her was completely wrong.
But you don't bitch about this in public... actually that second video showed quite some narcissistic behavior and a cry for attention!

If she really wanted to get back at her manager she should have written down all her very valid points in a formal email and escalate this internally (and include HR). That would have been professional from her side, and most likely would have resolved the issue more effectively and possibly her manager would have received a reprimand for overstepping his authority.

 

[planteater]

100% in Apple's corner here. She can be a comic for all I care, inappropriate representation is inappropriate representation. Respect the culture and rules of the place you work for, especially when they do make sense.

To those people defending the TikToker, saying she gives good advice. Take a look at her other video on Apple devices. She blames the customer for almost all battery issues. She makes scrunched up faces and condescending impressions of customers, implying that they are all stupid for wasting her time. I am sure there is some truth in that people overstate their battery woes all the time, but I am even MORE sure that Apple does not want its employee to publicly assert that its customers are morons. She is a freaking loose cannon, and Apple should can her.

Wow no kidding. She is off the rail. Apple needs to fire her.

 

[BanjoDudeAhoy]

and then received messages from the thieves threatening to sell their private information on the black market. The victim had tracked their ‌iPhone‌ with Find My and found out it was in China.

Well, considering the privacy issues with TikTok, I would say there’s a good chance their private information is already available in China 😬

 

[ajfahey]

Apple employee: don’t give thieves your iCloud password

Apple: wait that’s illegal.

Sometimes these companies think when they employ you that they basically own you. I would understand if she was sharing out some trade secret or something that can hurt the Apple, but please…

Apple doesn’t own her. She can leave at any time. That wouldn’t be possible if they owned her. Companies are free to set employee boundaries for remaining employed, so long as said boundaries don’t violate civil rights and local employment law. Likewise, employees too are free to set boundaries for continued employment. Interestingly, I can’t think of a single employment law that limits what an employee can do to terminate their employment.

 

[Jason2000]

"...she often shared her work as a stand-up comedian and reaction videos to funny and quirky content posted on the app."

I can not support anyone that posts reaction videos. Those are the most ignorant things I have seen on social media.

 

[compwiz1202]

One would think a "certified hardware engineer for a certain company that likes to talk a lot about fruit" would be smart enough not to use TikTok.

/justsayin

Exactly where else would it be. Did she do R&D for making the waistbands more stretchy at Fruit of the Loom?

 

[Ethosik]

Never ever EVER publicly announce where you work. Even if it’s not spelled out by name but this statement wasn’t cleaver to avoid anyone knowing which company that was being referenced.

The only exception to this is if you already work there - like YouTubers. Linus works at Linus Tech Tips and LMG. They are already in the public eye. Same with actors.

 

[whack3r24]

I'm calling a spade a spade. Why does the term 'attention wh*re' work you up so much? A couple of hallmarks of this behavior are as follows:
- being controversial to provoke a reaction.
- exaggerating and embellishing stories to gain praise or sympathy.

Seems pretty on-point to me.

In terms of 'how the media functions', I won't go down that road. You are correct, however. Most media today -- and especially social media -- is hot garbage that carries little actual value. I've already given this topic FAR more of my life minutes than it deserves (fortunately I can multi-task). That doesn't mean I have to LIKE it, though. And when I see people defend this person's videos as something that actually carries value, from an Apple discussion perspective (which is why we are here, right?), I feel like I then have as much right to present my opinions of distaste over the whole matter as she does to post her videos. I do believe my perspective would be at least 98.2% likely to differ from the perspective of the tiktoker.

I mean, I'm not worked up. 'Attention wh*re' seems a tad extreme and unnecessary when 'attention seeker' does the job and covers the behaviour traits you correctly indicated but hey, maybe your subconscious wanted to provoke a reaction by using a self-censored cuss word🤔.

Your initial post I responded to indicated that you believed there was nothing wrong with the first video but went on a mini rant that her second video was uncalled for because the manager had backed off and the incident hadn't been escalated to the more senior positions so it had been dealt with even though that wasn't the case. Those were my only gripes. Those aside I think we're aligned on everything else.

1st video is fine
2nd video openly complaining about apple is a no

Anywho, I've procrastinated long enough. Loved this back and forth. I'm going to make and the assumption that we share the same name so adios fellow Mike👍

 

[cthompson94]

Yeah...I do side with Apple on this. The employee could have proved their knowledge another way and been a little more general with who their employer is. Maybe show their degree or something, you know that someone is already walking a fine line trying to explain where they work without directly saying "Apple".

 

[Criss P.]

Sad when corporate policies get in way of someone trying to help. It’s not like she was giving away any trade secrets.

However, there are rules and guidelines that all employees must abide. Companies like APPLE didn't get to where they are now just because. There is a backbone, a core, made up of rules which creates the proper environment for a company to be successful and to grow. Unfortunately, this new generation, was raised with the concept that they can do whatever they want without consequences. We, human beings, needed rules to survive and get where we are now. Companies are a form of closed societies, with their own set of rules that everyone must follow to survive.