ALBANY – Governor Andrew Cuomo along side New York State Attorney General Letitia James launched an investigation Wednesday into Apple’s failure to warn consumers about a major FaceTime bug and their slow response to addressing the issue.
On January 19, a FaceTime bug was made public where users could receive audio and video from the iPhone of the person they are calling even before the person has accepted or rejected the call.
Apple disabled Group FaceTime on January 28 for both iOS and macOS while the company works to patch the major the security flaw. Reports indicate that has fixed the issue for some with others still able to replicate the issue. It is advised for users to disable FaceTime entirely on their device until Apple releases a fix for the bug.
Governor Cuomo said he fully supports the AG’s investigation stating that New Yorkers should have piece of mind that their phones are not being used against them.
“We need a full accounting of the facts to confirm businesses are abiding by New York consumer protection laws and to help make sure this type of privacy breach does not happen again.”
Attorney General Letitia James said this bug is a “serious threat” to consumer privacy and users “shouldn’t have to choose between their private communications and their privacy.”
“My office will be conducting a thorough investigation into Apple’s response to the situation and evaluate the company’s actions in relation to the laws set forth by New York State.”
Users may make complaints about the FaceTime bug to the Department of State’s Division of Consumer Protection by calling 1-800-697-1220 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
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