Apple to Crack Down on Unauthorized Product Leaks Through Anti-Leaker Campaign

Apple is continuing its campaign to prevent leakers from illegally obtaining product information and releasing them to the public ahead of the product's release.

Apple's Anti-Leak Campaign

Apple reportedly sent another cease and desist letter to a Chinese leaker involved in an iPhone prototype selling scheme. The said leaker would offer the prototype to any interested party on social media.

Motherboard reported that Apple warned the leaker through a letter to stop obtaining, advertising, and selling leaked prototypes of devices.

The company also requested the seller to release their list of resources and asked for them to cooperate.

According to MacRumors, the letter reads that the tech giant had investigated the matter thoroughly and discovered numerous pieces of evidence about the unauthorized distribution of unreleased and rumored products.

Apple also pointed out that the intentional infringement is manifested as "publishing unpublished information about Apple's new products" through different social media platforms. The seller allegedly publishes the design and the performance of the leaked products.

This is not the first time that Apple had sent a cease and desist letter to an individual. In June, Apple sent letters to two known leakers and threatened them with a lawsuit if they continue to post information about unreleased products.

Apple is a victim of leaks almost every year. Dozens of leaks are released on different social media apps.

While some of the leaks are proven false and were only done to get as many likes as possible, there are many cases wherein Apple factory workers and designers steal and sell unreleased products and prototypes.

It is also possible that Apple intentionally spreads disinformation within the company, especially when it comes to hardware releases and events. It is Apple's way to hunt down leakers within the company.

In March, top leakers were wrong about an upcoming Apple event, suggesting that the tech giant was trying to weed out secret-spilling employees.

Deleted Twitter Accounts

As the number of letters distributed increased, more and more prominent leakers are disappearing. On June 11, one of the well-known leakers named "Mr. White," had his account deleted.

Now, a new Mr. White account posts images of Apple prototypes, but it was the original one responsible for posting images of a shorter, third-generation Apple Pencil and a second-generation AirPods Pro.

Mr. White is known to have leaked images of the iPhone 12 Pro's rear glass and the mini display unit of the iPhone 12 mini. He also leaked the A14 chip, the chassis of the iPad mini 5, and more. All of the images that he posted online were accurate.

Mr. White also posted pictures of unreleased products like the black ceramic Apple Watch Series 5, a fifth-generation iPod Touch, and a Jet Black iPhone X, according to Bloomberg.

Apple also sent a letter to other well-known leakers like "Kang," "CConceptCreator," and others. However, not everyone was tracked down by the tech giant yet.

A leaker called "Jin" told Vice that he had not received any letter yet. Jin was the one who leaked the images of the molds of the iPhone 12 lineup.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Sophie Webster