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Amanda Ladas vs. Apple: BC Woman Files Class-Action Lawsuit

CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT
FILE - ThisApril 5, 2012 photo shows the company logo at the Apple Store in London. Apple Inc. is set to reveal a smaller, cheaper version of the iPad at an event on Oct. 23, according to several reports published Friday, Oct. 12, 2012. (AP Photo/dapd, Martin Oeser, File)
AP
FILE - ThisApril 5, 2012 photo shows the company logo at the Apple Store in London. Apple Inc. is set to reveal a smaller, cheaper version of the iPad at an event on Oct. 23, according to several reports published Friday, Oct. 12, 2012. (AP Photo/dapd, Martin Oeser, File)

A B.C. woman has filed a class-action lawsuit against tech giant Apple for breach of privacy and security rights.

Surrey resident, Amanda Ladas filed the lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court Tuesday. Ladas alleges her rights and the rights of her son Jackson were violated after Apple began tracking and storing their movements without their consent on their three mobile devices.

"It's clear that Apple routinely and automatically collects sufficient information such that they can identify the real-world identity of the registered user of an iOS 4 device, as well as the device's physical location," said Eric Smith, an Information Security, Networking and Systems Administration Expert in a report included in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims that Apple "engaged in deceptive acts or practices that have the capability, tendency or effect of deceiving or misleading class members and that these practices entitle members of the class to aggravated, punitive and/or exemplary damages," according to a news release by the Laura Ballance Media Group

A sworn affidavit by geographic profiler Kim Rossmo was also filed with the lawsuit citing the potential risks of having sensitive personal information fall into the wrong hands.

Court filings state that Apple actively and discreetly collects this information once every six hours.

None of the claims has been proven in court. Apple has yet to file a response to the lawsuit.

Apple's iOS 4 operating system was released in June 2010. Ladas and her son were given iPod Touch devices with the iOS 4 operating system the same year. Ladas also purchased an iPhone 4 the following year.

A user's geographic location is claimed to be tracked, time-stamped and logged into a hidden file named "consolidated.db" on iOS 4 devices. The file is reported to be unencrypted and unprotected, making unauthorized access to such information easy.

According to the release, an estimated two to seven million users of Apple iPhones, iPads and iPods run iOS 4 in Canada.

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