Remember that court ruling in Korea last month that ordered Apple to pay out around $950 to the first person to sue over the whole Locationgate fiasco? Well, we knew it wouldn’t stop there.
27,000 users are now suing the Cupertino company for around $930 each — that’s a whopping $25 million lawsuit.
You see, the company that helped the first person to successfully sue Apple set up a website that encourages other iPhone users to do the same. Isn’t that nice? 27,000 people have signed up so far, all hoping to secure 1 million won (approx. $930) each. Bloomberg reports:
A group of South Korean users of Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhone sued the company in a local court, claiming it invaded their privacy by allowing the smartphone to collect location data without their consent.
About 27,000 people joined a class-action suit against Apple’s South Korean unit and headquarters, seeking 1 million won per person ($930) in damages, according to a notice posted online by Mirae Law, which represents the plaintiffs. The suit was filed in Changwon, south of Seoul, where the law firm is located.
In addition to these lawsuits, the report notes that Apple was fined 3 million won earlier this month by the Korea Communications Commission over the same Locationgate rigmarole, and was ordered to encrypt any location data that had been obtained.
Judging by the way in which the first lawsuit was settled in Korea, Apple could have a hefty bill to settle to another 27,000 Korean iPhone users, and possibly a whole lot more on the way.
[via MacRumors]
