Lawyer sues Apple over FaceTime bug eavesdropping on client chat

[HOUSTON] Apple Inc was sued by a Houston lawyer who claims his iPhone inadvertently allowed an unknown person to eavesdrop on his private conversation with a client.

Apple has come under fire for a bug in its iOS 12.1 iPhone that lets outsiders listen to conversations held during live video group chats using the company's FaceTime feature.

"Essentially the product converts a person's personal iPhone into a microphone that can be answered by an unknown third party to listen and record one's most intimate conversation without consent," lawyer Larry Williams II said in a complaint filed in state court in Houston. He said he learned his privacy had been compromised while taking sworn testimony during a client deposition.

Mr Williams is seeking unspecified punitive damages on his claims of negligence, product liability, misrepresentation and warranty breach.

The case is Williams v Apple Inc, 2019-06645, 133 Judicial District Court, Harris County, Texas (Houston).

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