OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA: Apple has agreed to pay $95 million in cash to resolve a proposed class action lawsuit alleging that its voice-activated Siri assistant breached users’ privacy.
The preliminary settlement was submitted on Tuesday evening in the federal court of Oakland, California, and is awaiting approval from U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White.
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Concerns raised over Siri recording private conversations and triggering targeted ads
Mobile device users raised concerns that Apple consistently recorded their private conversations after unintentionally activating Siri and shared these recordings with third parties, including advertisers.
Voice assistants typically activate when users say, “hot words,” like “Hey, Siri.”
Two plaintiffs claimed that mentioning Air Jordan sneakers and Olive Garden restaurants triggered ads for those products.
Another plaintiff reported receiving ads for a brand-name surgical treatment after discussing it privately with his doctor.
Class members eligible for compensation as Apple agrees to $95 million settlement
The class period runs from September 17, 2014, to December 31, 2024, beginning when Siri introduced the “Hey, Siri” feature, which allegedly caused unauthorized recordings.
Tens of millions of class members may receive up to $20 per Siri-enabled device, such as iPhones and Apple Watches.
Apple denies any wrongdoing in agreeing to settle.
The plaintiffs’ lawyers may ask for up to $28.5 million in fees and $1.1 million for expenses from the settlement fund, as per New York Post‘s report.
Apple’s Siri under fire (zhang kaiyv/ Pexels)
The $95 million settlement represents about nine hours of profit for Apple, which reported a net income of $93.74 billion in its latest fiscal year.
Similar lawsuit filed against Google’s Voice Assistant in California court
A similar lawsuit for users of Google’s Voice Assistant is currently pending in the federal court in San Jose, California, which is in the same district as the Oakland court. The law firms representing the plaintiffs in this case are the same ones handling the Apple case.
The case is Lopez et al v. Apple Inc., U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 19-04577.
