A federal judge narrowed down the lawsuit accusing Apple of violating the privacy of iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch users by collecting their personal data through its own apps, such as the App Store, Apple Music and Apple TV.
U.S. District Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California, dismissed almost all claims based on the “Allow apps to request tracking” setting on Apple’s mobile devices, but allowed some claims based on the “Device Analytics Sharing” setting.
Mobile device users said Apple violated their user agreements and several privacy and consumer protection laws by telling them that turning off settings would limit the collection, storage and use of their data, then ignoring their choices and collecting, storing and using that data.
The lawsuit, seeking unspecified damages, is one of many accusing tech companies such as Apple, Alphabet’s Google and Meta Platforms’ Facebook of allowing the collection of user data without consent.
In a 39-page ruling late Thursday, Dávila said Apple explained to users that the “Allow apps to request tracking” setting applies to “other companies’ apps and websites.”
He said this makes it “unbelievable” for reasonable people to believe that by turning off the setting, they are withdrawing consent to Apple’s data collection by its own apps.
But the judge said users could plausibly argue that they withdrew such consent by turning off the “Share (Device) Analytics” setting, citing Apple’s disclosure that users can “generally turn off sharing of Device Analytics.”
The Cupertino, California-based company said it collects data through this setting to improve its products and services.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday. Apple and its lawyers did not immediately respond to similar requests.
The case is Apple Data Privacy Litigation, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 22-07069.
© Thomson Reuters 2024
