Apple has allegedly threatened to fire an employee who posted a TikTok video containing basic iPhone safety tips. Employee Paris Campbell said she was told she violated company policy by identifying herself as an Apple employee and posting about Apple-related topics.
The company’s social media policy warns employees not to post about customers, colleagues, or confidential information — but Apple doesn’t specifically prohibit employees from posting about the technology at all.
“We want you to be who you are, but you should also be respectful in your posts, tweets and other online communications,” an internal document reads.
Campbell, a single mother living in New York, has worked at Apple for nearly six years, most recently as a repair technician at an Apple retail store. Last week, she replied to another TikTok user who lost her iPhone at the Coachella music festival and then received a threatening text message that her personal information would be sold on the black market unless she removed the iPhone from her Apple ID.
“I can’t tell you exactly how I got this information, but I can tell you that for the past six years I have been a certified Hardware engineers, certain companies that like to talk about fruit,” Campbell said in her response video, before warning users not to listen to the blackmailers. “Your phone is really useless to them, only you can save them, I suggest you don’t.”
That video went viral on the Internet, in about 24 hours 5 million views in 2019. On Friday, Campbell received a call from a manager telling her to delete the video or she would be disciplined “up to and including dismissal.” When she asked what would happen if she left the video, she said the manager retracted the original comment and said he would get back to her. So far, he hasn’t.
Over the weekend, Campbell released a second video titled “Dear Apple” in which she revealed that she was an Apple employee and said She is waiting to hear if she will be fired. “Before this video, I never really identified myself as an Apple employee,” she said. “Interestingly, though, after reviewing the social media policy…it doesn’t say I can’t publicly identify as an Apple employee, it just says I shouldn’t do it to make the company look bad.”
Campbell has been a stand-up comic cartoonist since 2011 and has a huge following on social media, including 439,000 on TikTok.
The popularity of her post may not have been enough to prevent her from being fired. Last year, Apple fired two high-profile activists for allegedly sharing confidential information. But Campbell said her video does not contain any information that has not been made public.
“I found Apple’s response to be in stark contrast to the way we portray ourselves as a company that tells people to think differently, to innovate and to come up with Creative solutions,” she said in an interview with The Verge. “Not only do I have all this Apple knowledge because I work for Apple. I get it because I have a long technical education and history. That’s why they hired me.”
Apple did not immediately respond to
‘s request for comment The Verge .
