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Apple sued again over location data

Apple is facing another lawsuit over its handling of location data, according to a report from The Loop. The latest complaint was filed by Lymaris M. Rivera Diaz in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.

Rivera is asking for monetary damages stemming from Apple's alleged practice of capturing both the device ID and location of a handset and sending it to third-party advertisers. Besides Apple, Diaz also cites The Weather Channel and Pandora in the suit.

The suit also names 10 'John Doe' defendants. This tactic is used in lawsuits when the plaintiff believes there are more targets to sue, but can't name them specifically until after the suit is filed or after the discovery process. This means there could easily be additional companies targeted by the same suit later on.

Apple is also facing an earlier lawsuit and a congressional investigation into its usage of location data stored on the iPhone. Apple confirmed in an FAQ and testified before Congress that location data is necessary for services such as local search and is not being used to track individuals.



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Apple is facing another lawsuit over its handling of location data, according to a report from The Loop. The latest complaint was filed...
 

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Alejandro

Oh Puerto Rico, there will never be enough room for your 51st star. Keep trying though.

May 11 2011 at 7:30 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
FreeRange

Aren't there some Navy Seals available to knock on these terrorist's doors (plaintiffs & lawyers)?

May 11 2011 at 7:14 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Edward

I am really finding these suits hard to believe or understand since (A) you agreed to the TOS/ EULA when you purchased the iPhone. (B) Is there any indication as to why they have named The Weather Channel and Pandora as well other "unidentified" defendants? I fully agree with Howie's point that a majority of society has become trigger happy with the "let's sue" button whenever they believe they have a fraction of chance at settling out of court. Let's be real none of these people are in it for the fight, they are probably hoping that Apple or one of these nameless companies will just fork over the cash to make it all go away. To hell with that, I know Apple will fight this tooth and nail so I hope that others will follow suit and do the same.

May 11 2011 at 1:07 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Thomas Platt

Hmm, to whom could I send a nice subpoena?

May 11 2011 at 11:48 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
3 replies to Thomas Platt's comment
howie

This is nothing more than a bunch of people looking to cash in on a total non-issue. Hopefully, Apple will vigorously defend itself, and not settle. Don't people work anymore? I guess the idea now is that we'll just sue successful companies to make money.

May 11 2011 at 11:30 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to howie's comment
Thomas Platt

Admit it Howie, if you thought for one second that you had a solid case against a company, a case that could earn you a suitcase full of cash, you'd be suing them as well. The difference here is that she agreed to the TOS/EULA. If any court awards damages in this suit, the judge should be stripped of his or her position and ability to practice law. Then again, if they were suing Microsoft... :P

May 11 2011 at 11:45 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
FreeRange

@tom - the only ones that win "a suitcase full of money" in this type of ridiculous lawsuit are the lawyers when it turns into a class action. The so called "plaintiffs" don't stand to gain much if anything at all.

May 11 2011 at 7:18 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Tim

Apparently this individual, nor his lawyers, read the TOS agreement when the phone was purchased, or the iOS 4.0 update TOS. It's very specific about the use of personal data and third parties.

May 11 2011 at 11:16 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Eideard

And lawyers wonder why their species is considered alien mutants.

May 11 2011 at 10:51 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Eideard's comment
Thomas Platt

No, no, not alien mutants, but vampires. BLOOD-SUCKING VAMPIRES!

May 11 2011 at 11:34 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Buzz

How dare they use my location to present me with location-based information. The bastards.

May 11 2011 at 10:31 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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