Apple has reportedly consented to pay $95 million in cash to resolve a class action lawsuit alleging privacy violations by Siri, its voice-activated assistant. The iPhone maker denied any wrongdoing, but agreed to the settlement.
Apple users had claimed in multiple complaints that their private conversations were recorded and shared with advertisers and other third parties when they accidentally turned on Siri. The illegal recordings are said to have started when Apple introduced the “Hey, Siri” command function into the voice assistant.
According to a report by Reuters, a preliminary settlement was filed in the federal court in Oakland, California. The settlement now needs the approval of a U.S. District Judge.
As per the report, two plaintiffs in the lawsuit claimed that when they mentioned Olive Garden restaurants and Air Jordan footwear, they started receiving advertisements for these brands. Another plaintiff claimed that after what he presumed was a private discussion with his doctor, he started receiving advertisements for a branded surgical procedure.
The plaintiffs' attorneys could reportedly ask for up to $28.5 million in fees and $1.1 million for costs from the total settlement amount.
Not just Apple Siri, other voice assistants have been marred with complaints of privacy issues. There have been allegations of biometric data collection, especially voice data and trigger words from conversations, which are allegedly used for promotions of branded products or related content. For instance, speaking about “hot air ballooning” may trigger promotional content of tourist destinations famous for the same, including Cappadocia in Turkey.
A similar case of user privacy violations by Google's Voice Assistant is currently underway in a federal court in San Jose, California. The class action lawsuit in Google Assistant Privacy Litigation is against Google and Alphabet, the parent company, for allegedly recording talks using Google's Voice Assistant without permission or consent from users.
Google has said that neither the plaintiffs' claims of injury nor any breach of contractual obligations were proven. Additionally, the company stated that it makes no guarantees that the Assistant will only turn on when the user wants it to.
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