Rebecca Day

Bangladesh-based websites TopSocial24 and SocialBD24 facilitate “deceptive and inauthentic interactions” through fake LinkedIn accounts for the purpose of misleading the social networking platform’s members, alleged a fraud complaint (docket 5:23-cv-00110) filed by LinkedIn in U.S. District Court for Northern California in San Jose Tuesday. The complaint seeks injunctive relief and damages against TopSocial24, SocialBD24, MD Raju Ahamed, Golam Mostafa and DOES 1-10 for breach of contract, fraud and deceit and intentional interference with contract.

Plaintiffs in two tax filing website cases against the Meta Pixel tracking tool filed a joint opposition Tuesday (docket 3:22-cv-3580) to Meta’s request to consider whether their cases should be related to and consolidated with the consolidated Meta Pixel healthcare cases (see 2301100005).

Apple unlawfully records and uses consumers’ personal information and activity on its mobile devices and apps for financial gain even after users indicate through device settings they don’t want their information shared, alleged a class action (docket 2:23-cv-70) Friday in U.S. District Court for Eastern Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Health website Favor disclosed and allowed third parties to access users’ personal identifiable information (PII) without their consent, alleged a class action Thursday (docket 3:23-cv-59) in U.S. District Court for Northern California in San Francisco.

The use by the University of California San Francisco Medical Center of Mega Pixel tracking technology in its My Chart online patient portal is an “extreme invasion” of plaintiff's and class members’ right to privacy and violates state statutory and common law, said a class action filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for Northern California in San Francisco.

Anker’s claims that its eufy security products keep customers’ data “safe within your home” are “false and misleading,” alleged a Dec. 23 breach of contract class action (docket 2:22-cv-1816) in U.S. District Court for Western Washington in Seattle. .

Six lawyers representing plaintiffs in multiple class actions arising from last summer's Samsung data breach entered notices of presentation by Tuesday's deadline, indicating they will appear at the Jan. 26 oral argument before the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation’s hearing on various motions to consolidate the cases and transfer them to a single judge.

An AT&T handset upgrade exchange program was a “bait-and-switch scheme,” alleged a class action (docket 1:22-cv-5155) filed in U.S. District Court for Northern Georgia in Atlanta Friday against the carrier and American Express.

Samsung’s claim that its Z Fold 3 smartphone can be folded and unfolded at least 200,000 times -- the number of such actions a user would perform in five years -- is based on “flawed” testing methodology and “not representative of real-world usage,” alleged a fraud class action filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Dec. 26 (docket 1:22-cv-10882).

Apple’s decision not to package a power adapter with series 12 through 14 iPhones is a breach of contract and a breach of implied warranty, plus a violation of Illinois consumer fraud laws, alleged a Dec. 27 class action (docket 3:22-cv-03099) in U.S. District Court for Southern Illinois in East St. Louis. Previous versions of the iPhone included a power adapter, but beginning in 2020, the company stopped including adapters, claiming environmental benefits from foregoing the mining of precious metals used in their production and the reuse of customers’ adapters from previous purchases, the complaint said. Plaintiff Elizabeth Steines, who lives in Godfrey, Illinois, bought an iPhone between December 2021 and May 2022, expecting the iPhone to come with a charger required to use the device. Her most recent iPhone used a charger that wasn’t compatible with her current iPhone, so she was “forced to pay” about $30 for an additional charger at the T-Mobile store where she bought the phone or go without a charger until she was able to buy one, the complaint said. Apple could have taken other measures to promote environmental sustainability by adopting industry-standard USB-C chargers, “instead of rendering the Product non-functional unless an additional purchase was made,” said the plaintiff. As a result of “false and misleading representations and omissions,” the iPhone is sold for a price premium, “no less than $700” for the lowest price version, the plaintiff said, saying Apple “could have made chargers available for free to iPhone purchasers who request them.” The plaintiff intends to buy an iPhone again at the price indicated if given “assurances it comes with the necessary components to render it functional or if the price is reduced by the amount of the charger.” Steines is “unable to rely on the labeling” of not only iPhones but also other products requiring another item for use, “such as a remote control without batteries, because she is unsure whether she would be buying only part of what she expects,” said the complaint. The class action seeks injunctive relief to remove, correct or refrain from challenged practices, monetary awards and damages, plus costs and expenses. A group of Chinese students sued Apple for not supplying a power adapter and earphones with the iPhone 12, Vice reported in 2021. The class action is not related to enforcement activities in other countries related to similar allegations, said the complaint. The European Council approved a rule in October that will require mobile phones and other electronic devices sold in the EU to be equipped with a USB Type-C charging port by the end of 2024, leading to speculation that the next generation of iPhones will include USB-C charging ports.