Apple employee claims she has been threatened with firing over viral TikTok video

An Apple employee claims that the tech company she’s worked at for over six years is threatening to fire her over a viral TikTok video she made.

The employee, Paris Campbell, says she was threatened with termination over a viral video she made on TikTok where she provides others with basic common sense, and publicly available tips on what to do if their iPhone is stolen.

Paris has 446,000 followers on the social media platform, with over 17.7 million likes. Until last week, she did not publicly identify herself as an Apple employee, and would often share her work as a stand-up comedian, as well as her funny reaction videos.

In a TikTok video posted over the weekend, she explains that she received a call from her manager telling her that she breached company policy by identifying herself as an Apple employee.

Apple’s social media policy advises employees against discussing Apple’s customers, other employees, or any confidential information. However, it does not limit employees from publicly identifying themselves as Apple employees but only requires them to maintain Apple’s image and reputation in their online presence.

“I’ve never actually identified myself as an Apple employee until this video,” she said in the video. “Funny thing is, though, after reviewing the social media policies… nowhere does it say I can’t identify myself as an Apple employee publicly, just that I shouldn’t do so in a way that makes the company look bad.”

Paris found Apple’s response to be “directly in contrast to how we portray ourselves as a company in terms of telling people to think different, innovate, and come up with creative solutions.” 

“I don’t just have all this Apple knowledge because I work for Apple,” she adds. “I come to this knowledge because I have a long technical education and history. That’s why they hired me.”

As of now, Paris’s employment status remains unknown.

Apple’s employee’s viral video that almost got her fired

In a TikTok video shared last week, Paris responded to someone who had their phone stolen. The victim explained that the thieves who stole their phone threatened to sell their private information on the black market. After tracking their iPhone with the Find My tracking app, they found out that it was in China.

The thieves tried to convince the victim to remove the stolen phone‌ from their Apple ID account to bypass Activation Lock.

In the viral clip, which has amassed a whopping 7.5 million views, Paris tells the victim: “I can’t tell you how exactly I know this information, but I can tell you for the last six years I’ve been a certified hardware engineer for a certain company that likes to talk a lot about fruit.”

The TikToker then goes on to strongly advise against removing the ‌iPhone‌ from the ‌Apple ID‌ and goes on to explain Activation Lock. She also provides handy tips for the victim and reassures them that the thieves’ don’t actually have access to their private information. She concludes the video by advising the victim to ignore the messages.