Standard Innovation is accused of secretly gathering highly sensitive personal details from its We-Vibe vibrator that can be controlled through a smartphone app.
“What we have discovered is that those toys can be remotely controlled through a smartphone app. It means that the app allows for people who are not naturally in the same place to exchange text messages, start a video chat and actually remote control the device despite being in a different location,” Rapp told Sputnik.
Rapp added that the basis of the lawsuit is due to the fact that the company did not disclose that this kind of personal information would be monitored, so people actually had no idea that this was going on.
The attorney further spoke about industry standards and mentioned companies like Windows or Apple.
“When they [Windows or Apple] wants to track your diagnostic information about how you read your word document they actually ask you. It is usually something like, ‘we see your computer has shut down, can we send your diagnostics to Microsoft for analysis?’ There is nothing like that over here in this lawsuit,” Rapp said.
The attorney mentioned the privacy policy of the vibrator manufacturer, adding that Standard Innovation was spying primarily in order to find ways to increase its sales.
“The device was actually tracking IP addresses. So if you were using a smartphone or if you are logged into your wireless network at your home there is an IP address that can identify you,” Rapp said.
Looking further at why the company would need all this information of its customers, Rapp said that they wanted to use the information they were obtaining from customers to somehow increase their market share or sale of their products.
“Given how personal this information is what the company was doing is inappropriate,” the attorney added.
The woman, who is not identified in the lawsuit, claims the producer violated its clients’ privacy by collecting information on their preferences and other sensitive data without asking for permission.
The sex toy and its remote control app enable users to customize settings to suit their preferences. The plaintiff said, the company concealed its data collection program from its users.
