Apple Sued Over Apps Privacy Issues; Google May Be Next

Only Real Honest True Unbiased Local, World & US News | Two separate groups of iPhone and iPad users have sued Apple alleging that certain software applications were passing personal user information to third-party advertisers without consent.

In the lawsuits seeking class action, filed in a federal court in California, the plaintiffs sought a ban on passing of user information without consent and monetary compensation, according to case documents. At some point, both cases may be consolidated into one by the judges presiding over the cases, said Majed Nachawati, a partner at law firm Fears & Nachawati, one of the attorneys for the complainants.

Along with Apple [AAPL  325.29    -0.18  (-0.06%) ], makers of popular apps such as Textplus4, Paper Toss, Weather Channel, Dictionary.com, Talking Tom Cat and Pumpkin Maker were also named co-defendants in the lawsuits filed on Dec. 23.

The lawsuits follow a Dec. 18 report in the Wall Street Journal that said smartphones apps may be sharing personal data "widely and regularly," and that iPhone apps transmitted more data than apps on phones using Google's [GOOG  601.00   2.08  (+0.35%) ] Android operating system.

"We are also looking at Google's Android platform and a lawsuit against them has not been ruled out," Nachawati said.

Concerns about user privacy have emerged with the rapid growth of smartphones that spawn apps, and social networking websites such as Twitter and Facebook.

The Unique Device ID that Apple assigns to its devices has become an attractive feature for third-party advertisers looking for a way to reliably track mobile device users' online activities, one of the lawsuits said.

"None of the defendants adequately informed plaintiffs of their practices, and none of the defendants obtained plaintiffs' consent to do so," one lawsuit alleged.

CNBC