EXCLUSIVE: Apple engineer says he was fired after refusing to send customer device IDs to AT&T
A 16-year employee alleges Apple’s carrier team shared IMEI numbers through unsecured email without required customer releases. Apple denies wrongdoing and says he was fired for just cause. A jury trial is set for November 2027.
By Ryan Merket · Published · Updated
RUNTIMEWIRE INVESTIGATION — Exclusive
Original reporting by RuntimeWire.
Why it matters
The case puts Apple's privacy controls under scrutiny in the carrier-support operation where customer authorization depends on employees enforcing policy. Discovery could expose how serial numbers and mobile-network identifiers moved between Apple and AT&T.
On June 10th, 2024, Apple placed a meeting on Toby Boardman’s calendar.
Boardman had just returned from a month of protected medical leave. He had asked to discuss accommodations for anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. He had also repeatedly complained about his manager, whom he accused of punishing him for raising a customer-privacy concern. Boardman believed the meeting would finally address both issues.
Apple fired him the next day.…
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