In brief
Apple Inc. will pay a hefty sum of $95 million to resolve a lawsuit claiming that its virtual assistant, Siri, eavesdropped on users without their consent. The lawsuit, which accuses Apple of recording individuals and sharing those voice recordings with advertisers, has led to claims from users who allege that their private conversations were captured unintentionally. While Apple maintains its innocence, the preliminary settlement allows the tech giant to avoid further litigation, which could lead to larger compensatory payouts.
The allegations arise from claims made by lead plaintiff Fumiko Lopez and her daughter, who discovered that they had been served targeted ads related to their conversations about products like Air Jordans. Apple, although settling the case, insists it never recorded or disclosed conversations without consent and has confirmed that it deleted individual recordings made prior to October 2019.Under the terms of the settlement, each eligible claimant—those who owned Siri-enabled devices between 2014 and 2019—could receive up to $20 per device, amounting to multiple claims if individuals owned several such devices. However, the lawyers involved in the case could take about 30% of the settlement amount plus any incurred expenses.The proposed date for the decision regarding the settlement is set for February 14 in a Northern California court. This lawsuit is merely one of several class actions Apple has faced in recent years, including a $500 million payout related to the intentional slowing of iPhones and a $490 million settlement concerning accusations from the UK Council.As the tech landscape evolves, scrutiny of user privacy and data handling practices continues to intensify, bringing companies like Apple and Google under the microscope regarding their digital assistants and user data management.
