Ex-Apple employee takes Face ID privacy complaint to Europe – TechCrunch

Privacy watchdogs in Europe are considering a complaint against Apple made by a former employee, Ashley Gjøvik, who alleges the company fired her after she raised a number of concerns, internally and publicly, including over the safety of the workplace. Gjøvik, a former senior engineering program manager at Apple, was fired from the company last September after she had also raised concerns about her employer's approach towards staff privacy, some of which were covered by the Verge in a report in August 2021. At the time, Gjøvik had been placed on administrative leave by Apple after raising concerns about sexism in the workplace, and a hostile and unsafe working environment which it had said it was investigating. She subsequently filed complaints against Apple with the US National Labor Relations Board. Those earlier complaints link to the privacy complaint she's sent to international oversight bodies now because Gjøvik says she wants scrutiny of Apple's privacy practices after it formally told the US government its reasons for firing her -- and "felt comfortable admitting they'd fire employees for protesting invasions of privacy", as she puts it -- accusing Apple of using her concerns over its approach to staff privacy as a pretext to terminate her for reporting wider safety concerns and organizing with other employees about labor concerns. A spokesperson for the ICO told TechCrunch: "We are aware of this matter and we will assess the information provided."