Apple Allegedly Threatens to Fire Employee Over Viral TikTok Video

Apple is allegedly threatening to fire an employee who posted a TikTok video with basic iPhone security tips. The employee, Paris Campbell, says she was told that she violated company policy by identifying herself as an Apple employee and posting about Apple-related topics.

The company’s social media policy warns employees not to post about clients, colleagues or sensitive information, but Apple doesn’t specifically prohibit employees from posting about technology entirely.

“We want you to be yourself, but you should also be respectful in posts, tweets, and other online communications,” says an internal document.

Campbell, a single mother living in New York, has worked at Apple for nearly six years, most recently as a repair technician at Apple Retail. Last week, she responded to another TikTok user who had lost her iPhone at Coachella, then received threatening text messages saying her personal information would be sold on the black market unless she removed the iPhone from her Apple ID. .

“I can’t tell you exactly how I know this information, but I can tell you that for the last six years I’ve been a certified hardware engineer for a certain company that likes to talk about fruit,” Campbell said in his response video, before warning the user who does not listen to extortionists. “Your phone is actually useless to them, and you are the only person who can save them, and I suggest you don’t.”

That video went viral and racked up 5 million views in about 24 hours. On Friday, Campbell received a call from a manager, telling her to remove the video or she would be subject to disciplinary action “up to and including termination.” When she asked what would happen if she left the video, she says the manager retracted her original comment and told her he would get back to her. So far, she hasn’t.

Over the weekend, Campbell posted a second video titled “Dear Apple,” where she revealed she was an Apple employee and said she was waiting to find out if she was going to be fired. “I never actually identified myself as an Apple employee until this video,” she said. “However, the funny thing is, after reviewing the social media policies…nowhere does it say that I can’t publicly identify myself as an Apple employee, just that I shouldn’t do so in a way that makes the company look bad. ”

Campbell, who has been a comedian since 2011, has a large social media following, including 439,000 followers on TikTok.

The popularity of her posts might not be enough to keep her from being fired. Last year, Apple fired two high-profile activists for allegedly sharing sensitive information. But Campbell says his videos don’t contain any information that isn’t publicly available.

“I think Apple’s response is in direct contrast to how we represent ourselves as a company in terms of telling people to think differently, innovate and come up with creative solutions,” he says in an interview with The Verge. “I don’t have all this knowledge of Apple just because I work for Apple. I come to this knowledge because I have a long technical background and history. That’s why they hired me.”

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Verge.

Source: www.theverge.com