Unable to uninstall pre-installed software, user loses lawsuit against Apple

The first domestic lawsuit in which an Apple phone user sued Apple for personal information security issues has finally come to a conclusion. Yesterday, Ms. Yao received a court ruling that all her claims were rejected.

The court determined that this situation did not constitute a product quality issue

At the end of June this year, Ms. Yao from Shenzhen filed a lawsuit against Apple's distributor in mainland China, "Apple Electronics Trading (Beijing) Co., Ltd." and Shenzhen retailers, "A Telecommunications Development Co., Ltd." and "A Telecommunications Business." She listed a total of six demands, including requiring the defendants to disclose whether the pre-installed software in the iPhone 5 has the function of monitoring and stealing users' private information, disclose the reason why users cannot freely uninstall the pre-installed software, and publicly apologize.

In this regard, the Futian Court held that Miss Yao recognized the quality of the mobile phone and knew that the mobile phone needed to be cut off, the pre-installed software could not be uninstalled, the application software needed to be downloaded through the App Store, and the software needed to be installed when connected to the computer, but Miss Yao still voluntarily purchased it. These circumstances do not affect the normal use of the mobile phone, and the use of the self-contained iOS operating system by Apple mobile phones is its product feature, which is not enough to constitute a product quality problem. Miss Yao's request to redesign the mobile phone system and apologize lacks factual and legal basis, and the court does not support this.

Regarding Ms. Yao's claim that Apple violated the user's right to know and privacy, the Futian Court held that if Ms. Yao was certain that Apple violated the user's privacy rights, then her requests to "disclose whether the pre-installed software in the iPhone 5 has the function of monitoring and stealing user private information" and "disclose the reason why users cannot freely uninstall pre-installed software" are meaningless and do not conform to the form of liability for breach of contract; if Ms. Yao wanted to ask whether there was any violation of privacy, Apple has already given the corresponding answer, and there is no need for a judgment on the above claims.

Therefore, the Futian Court made a first-instance judgment, dismissing Ms. Yao’s lawsuit.

The Consumer Council wrote to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to crack down on pre-installed software

As the case was reported by this newspaper and many other media, it has aroused public concern about whether it is legal for pre-installed software to be unable to be deleted.

At the end of October, the Shenzhen Consumer Council announced that it had joined hands with 22 municipal and district consumer councils across the province to jointly write to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, requesting that consumers be allowed to freely uninstall pre-installed mobile phone applications, and put forward three suggestions: First, mobile phone manufacturers should separate pre-installed application software on smartphones from system software that supports basic mobile phone functions and allow users to uninstall them freely; second, mobile phone manufacturers and software developers should clearly inform consumers of important information such as the name and nature of pre-installed application software and the corresponding uninstallation method; third, strengthen market supervision of pre-installed application software and improve pre-installed software testing standards.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.