Apple Workers Accused of Taking and Sharing Close-up Photos of Female Customers

Four Apple employees from the company’s store in Carindale, Australia, have been fired after complaints that they were involved in a group of workers taking close-up and explicit photos of female customers and then sharing them in a private chatroom.

According to reports, several members of the local Apple store staff took pictures of women without their knowledge and then posted them in a private chatroom to have them rated from 1 to 10 depending on subjects’ bodies.

Furthermore, the four employees have also been accused of stealing photos from phones brought in for repairs, local media claims. It appears that photos of female employees have also been shared internally.

The privacy violation was reported after one of the store employees spotted a colleague searching an iPhone brought in for servicing for photos that would then end up being shared with others.

Apple: No evidence of privacy violation

Apple explains that it has already conducted an investigation, but no evidence was found that such activities took place in the store. The company hasn’t mentioned, however, why the four employees were fired.

“Apple believe in treating everyone equally and with respect and we do not tolerate behaviour that goes against our values. We are investigating a violation of Apple's business conduct policy at our store in Carindale, where several employees have already been terminated as a result of our findings,” the company said.

“No evidence that customer data or photos were inappropriately transferred or that anyone was photographed by these former employees.”

Australian privacy watchdogs are now calling for Apple to share more information on its investigation, emphasizing that all companies in the country need to protect privacy of employees and customers in the most effective manner.

“This is an important reminder that all organisations that collect and manage personal information need to embed a culture of privacy and ensure employees understand their responsibilities,” Australian privacy commissioner Timothy Pilgrim said.