Apple engineer says he was fired after refusing to send cust. device IDs to AT&T

https://runtimewire.com/article/exclusive-apple-engineer-says-he-was-fired-after-refusing-to-send-customer-devic

70•ryanmerket•55m ago

Comments

radium3d•37m ago

AT&T looking for more user data to leak to everyone? Already did the SSNs

tdeck•35m ago

I have to say this sounds like an extremely believable form of shoddy PII stewardship.

sigmonsays•35m ago

Link to non paywall version?

ryanmerket•27m ago

we don't monetize yet, it's just email

gortok•20m ago

But we don’t want to have to give you our email.

ryanmerket•12m ago

all good, i removed it

wmf•35m ago

This guy is going to lose. If a company is violating no laws and your manager tells you to drop it, you can either drop it or quit. You don't get to choose how to interpret company policy.

applfanboysbgon•32m ago

There's a non-zero chance that Apple might settle if this gets sufficient media coverage, rather than letting it drag on for years making headlines and causing PR damage that exceeds what it would take to buy him off. Even if not illegal, this is surely not the kind of headline Apple wants to be in the news for.

wmf•26m ago

Yeah, it's almost always better to settle than to go to court. But he's going to get less than he's asking for. And I bet he really wants an apology which he won't get.

loeg•20m ago

That sounds better for him than dropping it?

mike_d•20m ago

At any large employer you sign an agreement to follow the employee handbook and internal policies. They all say the same thing: don't violate the policies even if directed to by your manager.

In this case Apple's legal department had identified the serials and IMEIs as PII.

This is why the case is in civil court and not criminal (because Apple didn't violate any "laws" as you claim). It is a contract dispute.

Tyrubias

chasil•25m ago

The apparent takeaway is that Apple devices on AT&T have reduced privacy.

This may change, obviously. Likely for the worse.

codedokode•20m ago

This is why you should use open-source firmware where there is no registration and customer IDs. Also, the software should allow overwrite IMEI to a random value daily.

> Boardman believed the meeting would finally address both issues.

> Apple fired him the next day.

This is a reminder that being honest with a company doesn't benefit you.

I agree this engineer will probably lose the case because Apple has better lawyers, but I believe your underlying argument to be incorrect. If your manager asks you to violate company policy, then the correct response is to not violate company policy and instead contact HR/legal. Otherwise, saying “my manager made me do it” will not save you if heads start to roll. This applies to both policies that are strictly internal as well as policies that are due to an underlying law. When it comes down to it, neither you nor your manager actually interpret laws or internal policies.

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Apple engineer says he was fired after refusing to send cust. device IDs to AT&T

Apple engineer says he was fired after refusing to send cust. device IDs to AT&T

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