Business law expert talks about the need for bureaucracy after employee discloses company information
A former Apple software engineer has been sued by the company for allegedly leaking confidential information. He would have disclosed data on future projects to the press, including the Apple Vision Pro headset. The business law lawyer, Sergio Vieirastated that the case raised a warning to companies: use of a confidentiality contract.
As he explains, the best way to guarantee the confidentiality of information is for the company to make a signed agreement. The document needs to be prepared in accordance with labor laws, current legislation and LGPD (General Data Protection Law), according to him.
“Establishing confidentiality agreements with employees, managers and partners helps ensure that business information remains confidential. This is essential to prevent leaks of strategic information, protect trade secrets and maintain competitive advantage“, he said.
The text, according to the expert, must be detailed:
- related parties;
- type of information that must be protected;
- conditions of use and disclosure;
- what are the conditions in case of breach of agreement.
The lawyer explains that the leak of confidential information may be grounds for dismissal for just cause. However, other punishments may be established in the contract.
UNDERSTAND THE APPLE CASE
The former Apple employee who was sued is Andrew Aude. The software engineer disclosed project details to reporters from Wall Street Journal It is The Informationaccording to the company.
Big tech says it discovered in November 2023 that Aude was sharing content. According to Apple, the former employee used his own iPhone provided by the company to communicate with reporters. The company is asking for US$25,000 (around R$100,000) in compensation for the damages.
During a November meeting, the company reports that Aude said he was without his smartphone at the time. Afterwards, he said he needed to go to the bathroom and deleted his conversations with journalists. The employee used the Signal app for these contacts. But Apple managed to recover the chat history.
#Apple #data #leak #sparks #warning #confidentiality #contracts #understand