Apple allegedly threatens legal action on Chinese tipsters leaking info about unreleased devices
In many ways, leaks are a double-edged sword. They excite consumers who always are looking to find out what new features and specs might be coming to a device that they are interested in. But even though leaks might bring attention to a particular product, companies like Apple have tried over the years to turn off the spigot of information that flows to these leakers before information that was supposed to surprise consumers when announced is already well known.
Recently, Chinese tipsters Kang and Duan Rui have received correspondence from Apple demanding that they stop revealing images and specs of future Apple products and the company threatened legal action in China if they fail to comply. To show you how close Apple has been monitoring these tipsters, AppleInsider says that the company reportedly demanded that leaks cannot be referred to as dreams or riddles. Some of the tipsters will refer to a leak as though it came to them in a dream.
Kang says that he "won't post riddles and dreams in the future," warning his fellow leakers that Apple will be looking closely at posts that disseminate information about unreleased products that could be considered "infringement and abuse of commercial information." Apple's actions could make it harder for those who have built up a following to deliver fresh tips and in a tweet, Jermaine from Concept Creator said that a Dutch lawyer has been looking to talk to him about a render for the AirPod Max that he previously made for FPT's Jon Prosser.
A lawyer is reportedly seeking information about this AirPods Max render made by Concept Creator for tipster Jon Prosser in 2020
Back in March, Apple demanded that its manufacturing partners like Foxconn and Wistron do background checks on all assembly line workers. Those with criminal records are kept away from assembly areas with unreleased Apple products in case they get tempted to sell photos or other information to tipsters. Much of the information stolen by assembly line workers is valuable as it can be sold to tipsters for as much as three times their salary or more.
One of the worst years for Apple when it came to leaks was 2013 before that September's release of the iPhone 5c. That model was a colorful plastic-cased handset priced lower than the "premium" aluminum unit. Apple fought for months to stop images of the iPhone 5c body in various colors from being released and the company bought back 19,000 iPhone 5c casings before the unveiling although by then, several images had already been published.
Back in 2017, Apple held an internal seminar on stopping leaks. News that Apple conducted this seminar leaked! The information captured during the seminar indicated that Apple CEO Tim Cook and other company employees hate leaks. That seems obvious, of course, but Apple seems more determined than ever to crackdown on those selling information about upcoming products and the leakers who are willing to shell out the big bucks to purchase these tips.
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