Apple is allegedly threatening to fire an employee who posted a TikTok video with basic iPhone security tips. The employee, Paris Campbell, says she was told that she breached company policy by identifying herself as an Apple employee and posting about Apple-related topics. <\/p>\n

The company\u2019s social media policy warns employees against posting about customers, colleagues, or confidential information \u2014 but Apple doesn\u2019t specifically bar employees from posting about the technology entirely. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe want you to be yourself, but you should also be respectful in posts, tweets, and other online communications,\u201d an internal document reads. <\/p>\n

Campbell, a single mother living in New York, has worked at Apple for nearly six years, most recently as a repair technician in Apple retail. Last week, she responded to another TikTok user who\u2019d lost her iPhone at Coachella, then received threatening text messages saying her personal information would be sold on the black market unless she removed the iPhone from her Apple ID. <\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t tell you exactly how I know this information, but I can tell you that for the last six years, I\u2019ve been a certified hardware engineer for a certain company that likes to talk about fruit,\u201d Campbell said in her response video, before warning the user not to listen to the extortionists. \u201cYour phone is actually useless to them, and you\u2019re the only person that can save them, and I suggest that you don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

That video went viral, wracking up 5 million views in roughly 24 hours. On Friday, Campbell received a call from a manager, telling her to remove the video or she\u2019d be subject to disciplinary action \u201cup to and including termination.\u201d When she asked what would happen if she left the video up, she says the manager walked back the original comment and said he would get back to her. So far, he hasn\u2019t. <\/p>\n

Over the weekend, Campbell posted a second video titled \u201cdear Apple,\u201d where she revealed that she was an Apple employee and said she was waiting to hear if she was going to be fired. \u201cI\u2019ve never actually identified myself as an Apple employee until this video,\u201d she said. \u201cFunny thing is, though, after reviewing the social media policies… nowhere does it say I can\u2019t identify myself as an Apple employee publicly, just that I shouldn\u2019t do so in a way that makes the company look bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campbell, who\u2019s been a stand-up comic since 2011, has a significant social media following, including 439,000 followers on TikTok. <\/p>\n

The popularity of her posts might not be enough to stop her from getting fired. Last year, Apple terminated two high-profile activists for allegedly sharing confidential information. But Campbell says her videos don\u2019t contain any information that isn\u2019t already publicly available. <\/p>\n

\u201cI find Apple\u2019s response to be directly in contrast to how we portray ourselves as a company in terms of telling people to think different, innovate, and come up with creative solutions,\u201d she says in an interview with The Verge<\/em>. \u201cI don\u2019t just have all this Apple knowledge because I work for Apple. I come to this knowledge because I have a long technical education and history. That\u2019s why they hired me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Verge<\/em>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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