A lawyer is pushing for a class action suit against Apple after he won a court battle last month over the iPhone’s location tracking.
Apple Korea recently paid about 1 million won in compensation to attorney Kim Hyung-suk following a lower court’s ruling that the smartphone’s software violated his privacy.
Kim, 31, and his company MiRaeLaw on Thursday began to collect applications for a collective lawsuit from other iPhone users on the Internet (www.sueapple.co.kr). The site was shut down temporarily because of the massive amount of traffic.
The site was shut down temporarily because of the massive amount of traffic.
“Apple should be held responsible for its collection of location information on the iPhone, which clearly shows the danger of a high-tech encroachment of consumer rights,” he said.
Kim lodged the suit with a Changwon district court on April 26, arguing the smartphone’s location recording infringed on his constitutional rights to privacy and freedom and caused psychological stress.
The court ordered Apple Korea to compensate him. The company did not raise objection, though it has not officially admitted the charge of privacy violation. The company sent him 998,000 won in late June.
The global technology giant and its Korea unit face a damage suit which 29 Korean iPhone users filed with a Seoul district court in late April.
By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)
