[2600-AU] Apple cannot be trusted - violation of Australian federal Data Protection/Electronic Crime Law

Zenaan Harkness zen at freedbms.net
Tue Dec 3 16:50:36 PST 2019


> > Here is something you probably wont see in the news.
> > 
> > Considering it just happened to someone close to me who is now borderline
> > suicidal as a result (pity lawyers are expensive..) thus as an emotive topic
> > it may colour my opinions here.
> > TLDR; Do not use any Apple device for anything important with respect to
> > photos or videos. They care nothing for your data integrity and will not
> > hesitate to deleteĀ  it to punish you.


By the way, the fundamentals of a legal claim are actually very easy,
if a little time consuming - you need at core, only two documents:

  1. An originating process - e.g. Statement of Claim, or e.g. the
     Small Claims Tribunal (or whatever that is called in your state)
     which costs only about $40, or may be a few hundred if you go to
     the Magistrates' Court (State of Claim).

  2. Your story. In Australia, this is called an affidavit.
     Do NOT do just a Statement or Statutory Declaration - e.g. the
     small claims forums often say "just do a statement or stat dec",
     but that is insufficient on any appeal, so just do an Affidavit
     straight away (i.e., properly witnessed).


That's it.

Apple is clearly at fault, and this particular claim is for three
primary claims:

  1. Damages (i.e. financial) of lost time, any money spent trying to
     recover the lost photos, and your filing fees, parking ticket
     costs etc. Probably not much.

  2. Damages for which damages are insufficient. This is the
     emotional anxiety, children's loss etc.

  3. Exemplary damages. This is the big one, and it means "Apple
     knows better, they must suffer a relevant payment to you in
     order to set an example to both Apple, and other players in the
     industry, that their actions causing this damage, must have
     consequences which the community sees (justice must be seen to
     be done)."

So that's the three primary claims, and the grounds are very simple -

  - Apple actively deleted files without consent and without notice
    to the user.

  - Apple has a duty of care to protect the documents, photos, and
    videos of end users, and to not delete these without consent.

  - Apple therefore failed in a fundamental duty of care to the
    claimant.


With the above simple docs in place (including affidavit, not stat
dec, so you're ready for the supreme court), Apple will likely settle
out of court rather than make it go further (and turn into a big
public spectacle).

And by doing the paperwork yourself, you are not beholden to the
threat that you may lose and suffer literally tens of thousands of
dollars of legal fees.

Cerate your world,



  DISCLAIMER:

  I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice, by law I'm probably
  required to say to you that "you must seek legal advice in legal
  matters," though if you DO represent yourself, you may experience
  feelz of euphoria, liberation, freedom from lawfare tyranny and
  other joyous feelz which leave you "over the moon" even if you did
  happen to lose or settle for a small amount.

  Iuris caveat emptor.


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