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Apple Fires Engineer After His Daughter's iPhone X Video Goes Viral (engadget.com)
"In a brutal reminder of the secrecy tech companies enforce on employees, Apple recently fired an employee after his daughter posted a video of the iPhone X," writes long-time Slashdot reader HockeyPuck. Engadget reports:
His daughter took down the video as soon as Apple requested it, but the takedown came too late to prevent the clip from going viral, leading to seemingly endless reposts and commentary... [I]t's important to stress that this wasn't a garden variety iPhone X. As an employee device, it had sensitive information like codenames for unreleased products and staff-specific QR codes. Combine that with Apple's general prohibition of recording video on campus (even at relatively open spaces like Caffe Macs) and this wasn't so much about maintaining the surprise as making sure that corporate secrets didn't get out. Apple certainly didn't want to send the message that recording pre-release devices was acceptable. All the same, it's hard not to sympathize -- the [radiofrequecy] engineer had poured his heart into the iPhone X, only to be let go the week before the handset reaches customers.
In a new follow-up video, the former Apple engineer's daughter says "I had no idea this was a violation," adding that her father "takes full reponsibility for letting me film his iPhone X." Here's some more quotes from her video.
In a new follow-up video, the former Apple engineer's daughter says "I had no idea this was a violation," adding that her father "takes full reponsibility for letting me film his iPhone X." Here's some more quotes from her video.
- "I made this little innocent video that was just supposed to be a fun memory of me and my family... It suddenly went viral, and I have no idea how my video got so much attention considering how many other iPhone X videos there are out there from other YouTubers..."
- "At the end of the day when you work for Apple, it doesn't matter how good of a person you are, if you break a rule, they just have no tolerance. They had to do what they had to do. I'm not mad at Apple. I'm not going to stop buying Apple products. Rules are in place for the happiness and for the safety of workers, and my dad takes absolutely full responsibility for the one rule that he broke."
- "It was an innocent thing, and to be honest I think Apple is going to do a much better job from here on out in addressing the rules and making sure that everybody is aware of the rules. And it was an innocent mistake, and he fully apologizes."
- "We're not angry. We're not bitter. My dad had a really great run at Apple, and he appreciates that company for everything they did for his career. My dad's gonna be okay... And yeah, I don't think he deserves this, but we're okay. We're good."
- [She breaks into tears when defending her father from critical commenters on YouTube.] "Apple really did like my dad. And they let him go. Because -- because he broke a rule. So my advice to people out there is to just not overlook rules when you're in the workplace or when you're in school or when you're at home."
Yo, Apple .. the competition is not going to steal some idea off a YouTube video literally a week before the product is in people's hands. This was shown after the product was announced. Sorry but nobody was hurt by this. Second there was no willful disclosure of any trade secret because the iPhone X was already announced. Third, don't lie to me with the "no exceptions" BS that rules have to be followed regardless of circumstance. Apple should suck it up it really should. They suffered no loss, and even if they did they are a mega corporation they can absorb it quite easily. Someone broke into my Benz when I parked it on the street stupidly and had some cash easily visible in it. I didn't go crying to the cops, I just let it go because one it's too much hassle and second maybe some dude needed to feed his family. Why can't Apple be like that? As for you âoebut but the contract, the NDA, the rules!â idiots: I 100% guarantee if you were in a plane crash in the woods and needed a first aid kit to as save your friends you would break the law and break into a cabin to steal first aid supplies. And what about the guy in Las Vegas who stole a truck to drive victims of a shooter to the hospital? So do you honestly I think that driver should be charged with theft? Fact is saying something is against âoerulesâ shouldnâ(TM)t come up in any argument. Letâ(TM)s talk about ethics.
Firing is still harsh. Plus, if he was an important employee, it will be costly to replace him. It's possible he was already on the edge, one more mistake from being fired, and this was the last straw. But it doesn't sound like that at all. His daughter could be totally mistaken, her parents could have spun a big illusion to keep her from worrying, but she claims Apple liked him.
Apple could have docked him some pay. Have him not get the bonus, accept a pay cut, even demand he take an unpaid leave of absence. Summarily firing him sends all kinds of bad messages, like that they think great engineers grow on trees and everyone leaps at the opportunity to work for the great, mighty Apple, and that they don't care about morale and expect the rest their employees to drink deep of the company Koolaid that this firing was totally justified. Must be a stressful place to work, a worse sweatshop than most top tech companies, many of which have a bad reputation that way.
There's also a small risk this could backfire on Apple. Apple's fans and customers could feel bad about what happened, and punish Apple for it. Apple is acting just like you say, smug and self-righteous, and that too could become part of this issue which comes back to haunt them. I doubt this though. Their customers probably will never notice, and that's a shame.
Intellectual Property is a monopolistic, selfish, and defective concept. It is "tyranny over the mind of man"
she claims Apple liked him.
Entirely possible, but showing the device to his daughter was already a firing offense. He might have skated on that if she hadn't gone on a public forum to blab about it, but once it was all over YouTube, Apple had to let him go.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Not to target you personally, but "the credibility of their rules needed to be protected" is a stupid and lame reason to fire someone. In the long run, *rule* is completely irrelevant. What's important is the goal the rule is trying to achieve - not leaking any product info early.
Now, maybe pour encourager les autres firings will actually achieve that. But I doubt it. From what I read, they're firing him for making a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes, even big ones. The key is to keep employees who learn from their mistakes, so that you don't end up paying the cost of a different employee maing the same mistake again. Now, maybe this was one of several incidents (and they don't need to all be leaks), but I didn't see any evidence of that.
What it really send a message about is a draconian corporate culture. It tells other employees to live in fear. And random fear at that. Robert Powell, the engineer who lost a prototype iPhone at a bar years ago, still appears to be employed there according to LinkedIn. So now it looks more like a campaign of terror than "rule enforcement".
Rule 35 of the internet: "If it can be hacked, it will be". - Charles Stross
He is lucks they only fired him. Apple is extremely aggressive when it comes to this type of thing. He is also lucky that he is out now. My current company, and many others would never hire someone from Apple who was there for more than 5 years and they are most like a person who was a heave coolaid drinker and thinks they are better than everyone else.
I worked for an Apple "Partner" in the past. My God, the hoops they had us jump through were insane. We eventually told them, thanks, but no thanks.
The experience of dealing with Apple is the reason while to this day, I refuse to buy Apple branded anything. Biggest bunch of self righteous smug motherfuckers I have ever met in my professional career.
Really? In a market where there's a shortage of qualified and experienced engineers and developers your company would not hire a an engineer who worked for one of the most successful device manufacturers on the planet for years because he is a 'Cool Aid drinking' .. 'self righteous smug motherfucker' ... 'who think he's better than everybody else'? If I was hiring engineers I would not turn my nose up at a dyed in the wool Android developer if he was qualified and an experienced coder even though I am no particular fan of the Android OS or Google. Same goes for Microsoft developers, I may not like Microsoft as a company but their engineers and developers are not radioactive space zombies who breathe in oxygen and exhale mustard gas. Apart from being a generalisation of ridiculous proportions, that whole post is mostly just a steaming pile of fanboy whining that make you sound like the love child of a drama queen and a snow flake, you really should get over yourself.
Firing is still harsh. Plus, if he was an important employee, it will be costly to replace him.
Apple doesn't have important employees any more. If they did, maybe they would have some magic, but they don't. It's replaceable cogs all the way down.
Apple is acting just like you say, smug and self-righteous, and that too could become part of this issue which comes back to haunt them. I doubt this though. Their customers probably will never notice, and that's a shame.
Keeping the prototype out of the hands of others was part of his job, and he didn't do it. As it so happens, it was a part of his job that Apple takes seriously. This is not news or surprising to anyone. His willful disregard for his employer means that he should be fired.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Sorry to go all old-man-yells-at-cloud up in here but today's generation is all about looking for ways to be noticed any way they can. Her apology video demonstrates that - she's beaming with pride about how her video was trending before it was taken down. People used to only earn recognition by either achieving something through hard work. YouTube and social media has provided them shortcuts to that status.
Not to target you personally, but "the credibility of their rules needed to be protected" is a stupid and lame reason to fire someone.
In a vacuum, that might be true. However...
In the long run, *rule* is completely irrelevant. What's important is the goal the rule is trying to achieve - not leaking any product info early.
...but he did. He totally did that thing. And even if it's not serious, it interferes with Apple's most important product — the veneer of capability and competence. When holes are punched in that, Apple suffers, because it's all they've got. They don't have technical superiority, they don't have unique features... all they have is their name, and the value of that is based on things like sphincter control.
From what I read, they're firing him for making a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes, even big ones. The key is to keep employees who learn from their mistakes, so that you don't end up paying the cost of a different employee maing the same mistake again.
Apple does not have any critical employees. Literally anyone at Apple could get hit by a bus tomorrow without impeding the operation of the company. The days when Apple depended on would-be superstars to do anything but give presentations are long over and Apple is now just banging out new iterations by formula, and there are people lined up ten deep to step into every role Apple's got, desperate for a paycheck. Keeping a prototype secret is clearly and obviously very important for Apple; Apple has a long history of taking this issue very seriously. Nobody who has trouble remembering this should need Apple to "do a much better job from here on out in addressing the rules and making sure that everybody is aware of the rules" because anyone with two brain cells to rub together ought to be fully aware of the rules by now.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
and everybody being aware of her doing it.
Being aware and giving a shit are two different things. It's amazing to see how far you can get with quite obviously breaking rules without someone stopping to speak up to you.
It's amazing how much you get away with if you show the confidence of someone who is supposed to do what they have. I remember at once chemical plant I worked at I occasionally have to take pictures. If I'm using my phone I get stopped every 5 minutes by someone asking to see my photography permit. When I brought in my DSLR and a tripod, not a single person questioned me.
Similarly walking through one company's plant without hearing protection on, I got pulled up straight away (even though it was a quiet area). Same company different site which I wasn't familiar with I walked into the plant protected area after turning down the wrong street. I was in suit and tie, people everywhere. No one dared to question the "important looking" person.
An obvious breach of the rule often look so deliberate that they may not be breaches of the rules.
The guy allowed a breach of NDA. That's a fundamental rule in any shop that deals with products that ship more than 10 units per production round.
Your comments sound fascist and unduly harsh to me. That's extremely disturbing. The fact that people actually upvoted this comment is even worse.
If this post is any indication, we're headed to a dreadful future where people defend undue punishment for "breaking the rules". That is the essence of a totalitarian society.
This is a skill everybody should get down while still young enough to be charged as a minor.
'Walk like you own the joint!'
Practice in intimidating places. Take trophies like the (police chief's/bishop's/judge's/principal's) desk nameplate. Sure, there are cameras everywhere now. Jr high school is the age to do your chutzpah practicals.
You will learn the importance of costume.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'