As one would have thought, the data loss and the loss of the personal and contact information for the users of T-Mobile Sidekick phones has finally led to a huge number of lawsuits, that are being filed against both T-Mobile and Microsoft. Both the companies have been accused of negligence and false advertising of the mobile device.
The whole situation erupted when Microsoft and T-Mobile announced the loss of subscriber data and suggested the users might have lost their data forever. The negligence on part of Microsoft has enraged the consumers and has tarnished the well maintained reputation of T-Mobile and Microsoft. The lawsuits filed in Northern California, demands compensation for the inconvenience and that, both companies should fix the Sidekick phones and restore the data services, failing which, the consumers are looking for a full refund.
According to Ira P. Rothken (Attorney),
“T-Mobile and its service providers ought to have been more careful the use of backup technology and policies to prevent such data loss. We are hopeful that T-Mobile and the rest of the defendants will do the right thing, use this as an opportunity to redesign the system as a new standard for cloud computing storage, and provide full compensation for the data loss.”
Another lawsuit brought on by Maureen Thompson, a Sidekick user, seeks damages in unspecified amount, for the damage the data loss has done to her daughter’s career. Mrs. Thompson’s daughter is an aspiring songwriter and lyricist. She used the Sidekick phone to save all her valuable data, including, lyrics, self-composed songs, business contacts among many others. According to Jay Edelson (Maureen Thompson’s lawyer),
“T-Mobile’s initial efforts to reimburse Sidekick users are a step in the right direction, but fail to sufficiently compensate Sidekick users for this disastrous loss of data. T-Mobile and Microsoft promised to safeguard the most important data their customers possess and then apparently failed to follow even the most basic data protection principles. What they did is unthinkable in this day and age.”
Via Cnet.
