Apple employees demand change in internal company practices in open letter

04 September 2021
The "#AppleToo" movement brings forwards some pretty strong accusations of misconduct, inadequate reporting channels and misuse of personal data.

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If I worked for Apple, I wouldn't be caught dead using IOS.

I'd rather have Google spy on me. At least I'd be spreading my personal info between 2 competing companies that would be unlikely to cooperate with one another.

Secondly, when you are a trillion dollar company, you hire the best people in the industry, and that includes the best ones at keeping your employees on the shortest possible leash, using legal gymnastics originally designed to keep corporate intellectual property secret, to ensure that everyone on the team is 100% reliable and won't cause you any trouble - or get out of line.

I am a capitalist, but everything has its limits and just as competition is the life blood of capitalism, so the workers can be free to push back against draconian company policies that no longer resemble the original purpose they were introduced to achieve - or worse, were openly introduced to keep the employees in line, usually accompanied by a social justice wrapping paper from the PR, legal or HR depts. trying to convince them that these new measures are actually in their own best interests when in fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

This is what invariably happens in every massive tech company once a certain critical mass is achieved.

Anyone remember Google's original slogan?

"Don't be evil"

When was the last time you heard them use it?

    Macaulay Culkin, 05 Sep 2021#GoogleToo has dealt with its own #MeToo already. Andy Rubi... moreOh yeah I remember this now that you mentioned it. If I'm not mistaken, the Essential Phone 2 development was even hit by this.

      Just a random thought, but it's good to see Google finally have its own retail store. Opened it in NYC. It's a start. Perhaps it fails like Microsoft stores did. Knowing Google, they'll drop the experiment faster than you can say Google Glass. But we need to see more Google and Samsung stores in the US. We know we can go there if we want our phones repaired.

      Closest Samsung Experience Store is still an hour drive for me. Where I grew up for most of the 1990s: Glendale, CA. I believe Apple, Samsung, and Google will be the only major players in mobile here in the US for the rest of this decade. Samsung and Google need to step up with their retail stores. I don't bother with cheap Chinese.

        Tommy Chhangte, 05 Sep 2021Marketing "privacy" as their devices' streng... more#GoogleToo has dealt with its own #MeToo already. Andy Rubin was accused of sexual misconduct.

        https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/25/18023364/google-andy-rubin-payoff-90-million-sexual-misconduct-harassment

        The irony here is Sergey Brin committed the same thing. Married but had an affair with Hugo Barra's gf.

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          • Peter
          • Hxi
          • 05 Sep 2021

          A typical toxic environment in big companies. When these companies cash in millions or billions of dollars from us, the customer, and then they treat their employees like shit, we as consumers have an obligation to do not buy their products anymore.

            These incidents didn't happen this often if at all under Steve Jobs. Under Cook the Kook I am not surprised.

              Akinaro, 05 Sep 2021Work in nice clean office with AC and coffee machine comfy ... moreExactly. First world problems. People from third world and developing countries doesn’t give a dime. There are actual real problems to solve.

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                • Carol
                • 3td
                • 05 Sep 2021

                I did not know that apple pride it's self as being private, who believs that anyway? In this regard, i take microsoft way more serious, as they never made money out of peoples profiles but out of products.

                  Android-Authority, 05 Sep 2021They have been long famous for harboring the worst workplac... moreDid you even read the post? The post complains about the office policies and its culture. It says nothing about working environment. Do you know even how to read?

                    Wh, 05 Sep 2021When you will have your own company you will understand tha... moreYou don't say. Of course that is a given in every capitalist firms. Tip: You don't need to start a company to learn all that. You must grow up to know such simple things. You must be a kid to let my point fly right above your head.

                    Making profit is the basic purpose of establishing every company. But making a profit by preaching something yet secretly practicing the exact opposite is utterly disgusting. And in case you couldn't figure it out, I'm talking about Apple and its money obsession - earning money even if it's a wee but out of bounds a.k.a. unethical.

                      Work in nice clean office with AC and coffee machine comfy chair - people complain about bad work environment, demand safe place, psychological help, candy, better privacy etc.

                      Work in job where you need to push your self hard in rain, dust, sun, sometimes alone or sometimes in big group of people that you dont know. Job where you build and design things on the spot without any fancy school paper. -No time to "official letter and social media movement" complain, job need to be done. people complain but they choose that work and knew what it came with it.

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                        • Wh
                        • nDy
                        • 05 Sep 2021

                        Tommy Chhangte, 05 Sep 2021Marketing "privacy" as their devices' streng... moreWhen you will have your own company you will understand that money is a top priority to keep your works logistics and so on
                        You will grow up, hopefully

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                          • AnonD-1003038
                          • puk
                          • 05 Sep 2021

                          TheLastOracle, 05 Sep 2021Aren't they just happy to be working for the greatest ... moreThat's not how CSAM scanning works and that's not even the reason we were outraged over it. It was for entirely different reasons.

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                            • Why
                            • nDy
                            • 05 Sep 2021

                            SMIRNAS, 05 Sep 2021for me,, Apple is dying or died together with Steve JobsWhy, because the Hitl behind Steve died?
                            Apple has been thrived since then, and works are more happy and has more guts to speak up since Tim is CEO

                              Marketing "privacy" as their devices' strength and selling point, yet the internal fellas who know better have revealed the real situation of "privacy" inside the company itself. The irony, the hypocrisy. This kind of headlines, as well as the fact that the company is always among the top valuable companies in the world, always lead me to believe Apple's top priority is and will always be M.O.N.E.Y. and all other things viz. ethics, so-called privacy, good business practices, concern for environment, etc. come second. And I know I'm only stating the obvious here.

                              That said, now that we have #AppleToo, I don't find a reason why #GoogleToo or #SamsungToo may not crop up in the future.

                                bj80sbaby, 05 Sep 2021Privacy is a figment of your imagination that doesn't ... moreOf course it does exist. Majority just choose not to use it. Ever tried off grid living?

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                                  • AnonD-1003038
                                  • puk
                                  • 05 Sep 2021

                                  Android-Authority, 05 Sep 2021They have been long famous for harboring the worst workplac... moreGotta love it when people pretend only Apple is this evil corporation and that they need to avoid it because of it, while willfully ignoring same s**t done by literally every single corporation there is, be it American, European or Chinese. They are all the same profit hoarding cancer where everyone outside of company execs are treated like the last garbage on Earth. But then one looks at your avatar and understands why you're saying it like that. If you think Samsung, Xiaomi, Sony, Oppo or literally ANY other brand are any different, then you're a basic clueless fool that's just barking at Apple because that's trendy to do these days.

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                                    • Anonymous
                                    • tDF
                                    • 05 Sep 2021

                                    [deleted post]most appreciated reply, thats how the world works, the bosses have their bosses and so on ... and we are all struggle through the system to put food on the table and roof above our head

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                                      • Anonymous
                                      • U@6
                                      • 05 Sep 2021

                                      Android-Authority, 05 Sep 2021They have been long famous for harboring the worst workplac... moreGood

                                        They have been long famous for harboring the worst workplace environment.
                                        This open letter just confirms all that.
                                        They do this, all with the intention of cutting costs and making more profits.

                                        This is why I never bothered with iPhones.
                                        My wife has used them in the past along with Samsung Galaxy phones, but she too has moved on to miui, with no intentions of returning back to stone age operating system like iOS

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