Apple Sued Over Not Letting Customers Disable Two-Factor Authentication After Two Weeks

[MacRumors]

New York resident Jay Brodsky has filed a frivolous class action lawsuit against Apple, alleging that the company's so-called "coercive" policy of not letting customers disable two-factor authentication beyond a two-week grace period is both inconvenient and violates a variety of California laws.

The complaint alleges that Brodsky "and millions of similarly situated consumers across the nation have been and continue to suffer harm" and "economic losses" as a result of Apple's "interference with the use of their personal devices and waste of their personal time in using additional time for simple logging in."

In a support document, Apple says it prevents customers from turning off two-factor authentication after two weeks because "certain features in the latest versions of iOS and macOS require this extra level of security":

If you already use two-factor authentication, you can no longer turn it off. Certain features in the latest versions of iOS and macOS require this extra level of security, which is designed to protect your information. If you recently updated your account, you can unenroll for two weeks. Just open your enrollment confirmation email and click the link to return to your previous security settings. Keep in mind, this makes your account less secure and means that you can't use features that require higher security.

The complaint is riddled with questionable allegations, however, including that Apple released a software update around September 2015 that enabled two-factor authentication on Brodsky's Apple ID without his knowledge or consent. Apple in fact offers two-factor authentication on an opt-in basis.

Brodsky also claims that two-factor authentication is required each time you turn on an Apple device, which is false, and claims the security layer adds an additional two to five minutes or longer to the login process when it in fact only takes seconds to enter a verification code from a trusted device.

The complaint goes on to allege that Apple's confirmation email for two-factor authentication enrollment containing a "single last line" alerting customers that they have a two-week period to disable the security layer is "insufficient."

Brodsky accuses Apple of violating the U.S. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, California's Invasion of Privacy Act, and other laws. He, on behalf of others similarly situated, is seeking monetary damages as well as a ruling that prevents Apple from "not allowing a user to choose its own logging and security procedure." Read the full document.

Article Link: Apple Sued Over Not Letting Customers Disable Two-Factor Authentication After Two Weeks

 

[Polaroid]

*rolls eyes*

So stupid lol.

 

[scrapesleon]

pathetic!! so people don't want security anymore great

 

[KPandian1]

Two-factor authentication is tough, but easily learned to speed use.

It is tough, so is driving safely - yet we manage. Lawsuit?

 

[mentaluproar]

Yea, it's such a pain having to remember my PIN too. The ATM should just give me money.

 

[Rudy69]

I'm sure it can be disabled

I’m pretty sure you can’t. My mom wanted it off because she doesn’t have a second device and she ended up just linking it to my sisters phone

 

[Apple_Robert]

I predict failure on the plaintiff's part.

 

[farewelwilliams]

"and millions of similarly situated consumers across the nation have been and continue to suffer harm"

i highly doubt this.

 

[pat500000]

I know apple been acting werid these days but suing due to “waste of time?” Come on. Gotta do better than that, man. Maybe next time he should sue because he was stressing.

 

[scrapesleon]

I’m pretty sure you can’t. My mom wanted it off because she doesn’t have a second device and she ended up just linking it to my sisters phone

it can be disabled just go to apples web page to turn it off did it once just to install some profiles

 

[rlhamil]

Greedy jerks and ambulance chaser attorneys make a predictable combination.

Since I want the features that only work with two-factor authentication, I have to use it; duh.

Gotta say though, I wish it was less of a PITA with old devices. When I try to turn on an old device to update such apps as still have updates that will work on it, I get a storm of confirmation popups on all my current devices (MacBook Pro, iPhone, iPad) that come and go faster than I can re-enter password with appended confirmation code on the old device. And that storm usually means I have to re-login to my Apple ID on all the current devices.

 

[calzon65]

Seems if people want to disable this and stupidly reduce their personal security, it should be their right.

 

[I7guy]

Interesting use of a lawsuit to force less security.

 

[Zoboomafoo]

I’m just going to sue apple for feature requests now. The phone icon is prejudiced against young people who aren’t familiar with what a telephone looks like. It’s ageist and insensitive. Now give us all three cents for the emotional damage this has caused us.

 

[Stevez67]

The suffering of the millions of the unwashed anti-security prolitariot is tremendous. I hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth of the unfortunate victims of this absurd evil 2FA wafting through the ether.

 

[keysofanxiety]

Can we sue this toilet brush for wasting people's time over such a boneheaded, frivolous lawsuit?

 

[1050792]

Apple was never known as a user choice company, so this doesn't surprise me.

 

[dannyyankou]

I feel bad, some people lost an entire 30 seconds of their life entering in a code while setting up their phone. 30 seconds they’ll never get back.

Can I sue this man for wasting a couple minutes of my “personal time” reading this article and responding?

 

[Helorn]

Does that mean I can sue my bank since they offer the two-factor authentication and I can’t opt out? Lol

 

[AdonisSMU]

Seems if people want to disable this and stupidly reduce their personal security, it should be their right.

They can buy an insecure device or jail break the device to add the features they want.

 

[scrapesleon]

cough***
should be suing over the weak flex cable in the screen of MacBooks but no y'all sue for mediocre things

 

[Wags]

lots of choices elsewhere.

 

[ikramerica]

Apple refuses to let me authenticate one of my computers. It tells me to add a code to the end of my password on my Mac mini, which fails to work. Two-factor doesn’t work this way on other devices so I don’t know what the deal is. But I can’t use my Apple ID on the mini now.

 

[SeattleMoose]

I am about ready to sue for not being able to set how long the alarm on the iPhone rings. That should be user selectable but it is not. Or change the default from 15 min to 5 min.

 

[ThunderSkunk]

It’s ridiculously annoying that after a decade of it being one of the most popular iPad hacks, Apple still requires you to look at a lock screen at all. One tap, I should be in. And no dramatic & inconsistent swipe gestures either. The iPad lives at home. I want the option to turn off the lock screen.

But um, jeez, do we really have to make a federal case out of everything?