Class action suit filed against Apple, others for privacy issues

[Duffman]

From FierceMobileContent

 

Looks like a personal injury attorney in Austin, TX is filing a class action suit in response to revelations that developers were able to mine data on customer devices.

 

The suit, filed this week in U.S. District Court in Travis County, Texas, claims almost 20 mobile app and game developers--including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, foursquare, Path, LinkedIn, Yelp, Electronic Arts, Rovio Mobile and ZeptoLab--are in violation of policies put in place by storefronts such as Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) App Store, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Play and the Amazon Appstore for Android. Citing research that states the user data in question could fetch anywhere from 60 cents to several dollars per contact, the suit alleges invasion of privacy, intentional interception, disclosure or use of wire or electronic communication, breach of computer security, negligence, unjust enrichment and racketeering, among other claims.

 

Apple is named in the class action suit; Google and Amazon.com are not, although Jeff Edwards, lead counsel for the plaintiffs, told the Austin American-Statesman that more companies could be added. "We're making some fairly serious allegations against the big boys," Edwards said. "We're saying, 'Hey, you took something that didn't belong to you, and you're making a profit off it.' "