Apple has agreed to pay $95 million in a preliminary settlement to resolve a class action lawsuit in the United States. The company is accused of recording private conversations without users’ explicit consent through its voice assistant, Siri.
The Facts: Siri Accused of Listening to Private Conversations
In July 2019, a report in the British newspaper The Guardian revealed that Apple’s Siri would sometimes accidentally activate its listening mode and record private conversations without the user’s voluntary voice command “Hey Siri.” These recordings included sensitive discussions such as medical information, illegal transactions, and even intimate exchanges. This data was then accessed by subcontractors responsible for quality control at Apple.
This revelation prompted a group of American citizens to file a class action lawsuit against Apple, accusing the company of not adequately protecting the privacy of its users. The complaint also highlights that some of these recordings could be shared with third-party companies, thus intensifying concerns around the protection of personal data.
Corrective measures implemented by Apple
Following the initial revelations, Apple took several steps to address public concerns and improve user privacy. In October 2019, with the iOS 13.2 update, Apple introduced an option allowing users to choose whether or not they wanted to share their interactions with Siri for the purposes of continuous improvement of the voice assistant. The feature was intended to give users more control over their personal data.
The preliminary agreement now reached between Apple and the plaintiffs also includes specific provisions regarding the management of data collected by Siri. The company must confirm that it has deleted the incorrect recordings and must clearly explain to users the choices available regarding data storage. This is intended to create greater transparency and strengthen user trust in the Siri device.
Financial implications of the settlement
Under the terms of the settlement filed in federal court in Oakland, California, Apple will pay $95 million. This sum will be distributed among U.S. consumers affected by these involuntary recordings, namely those who owned a Siri-equipped device between September 17, 2014 and December 31, 2024. Each plaintiff could potentially receive approximately $20 per affected device. The exact number of claimants has not yet been determined, but it is estimated that this could represent between 3 and 5% of eligible users.
Despite this substantial fine, the overall financial impact on Apple, one of the best-capitalized companies in the world, remains limited. The amount of compensation will hardly weigh heavily against the company's considerable revenues, but it nevertheless sends a strong signal about the consideration of users' privacy.
The Siri case is not isolated in the world of voice assistants. It is also reminiscent of a similar case involving Amazon and its assistant Alexa, where the firm had to pay more than $30 million in 2023 for privacy violations. This highlights a recurring issue in the voice technology space, calling for stricter regulation and continued vigilance from both companies and regulators.
Apple’s Right of Reply (added 01/07/2024)
Following the publication of this article, Apple would like to state the following: Siri was designed from the ground up to protect user privacy. Siri data has never been used to create marketing profiles and has never been sold to anyone for any purpose. Apple settled this case to avoid further litigation and to move forward, while we already addressed concerns about third-party scoring in 2019. We use Siri data to improve Siri, and we are constantly developing technologies to make Siri even more private.
0 Comments