Apple to pay $95 million to settle lawsuit accusing Siri of eavesdropping
Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit accusing the privacy-minded company of deploying its virtual assistant Siri to eavesdrop on people using its iPhone and other trendy devices.
The proposed settlement filed Tuesday in an Oakland, California, federal court would resolve a 5-year-old lawsuit revolving around allegations that Apple surreptitiously activated Siri to record conversations through iPhones and other devices equipped with the virtual assistant for more than a decade.
The alleged recordings occurred even when people didn’t seek to activate the virtual assistant with the trigger words, “Hey, Siri.” Some of the recorded conversations were then shared with advertisers in an attempt to sell their products to consumers more likely to be interested in the goods and services, the lawsuit asserted.
The allegations about a snoopy Siri contradicted Apple’s long-running commitment to protect the privacy of its customers — a crusade that CEO Tim Cook has often framed as a fight to preserve “a fundamental human right.”
Apple isn’t acknowledging any wrongdoing in the settlement, which still must be approved by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White. Lawyers in the case have proposed scheduling a Feb. 14 court hearing in Oakland to review the terms.
If the settlement is approved, tens of millions of consumers who owned iPhones and other Apple devices from Sept. 17, 2014, through the end of last year could file claims. Each consumer could receive up to $20 per Siri-equipped device covered by the settlement, although the payment could be reduced or increased, depending on the volume of claims. Only 3% to 5% of eligible consumers are expected to file claims, according to estimates in court documents.
Eligible consumers will be limited to seeking compensation on a maximum of five devices.
The settlement represents a sliver of the $705 billion in profits that Apple has pocketed since September 2014. It’s also a fraction of the roughly $1.5 billion that the lawyers representing consumers had estimated Apple could been required to pay if the company had been found of violating wiretapping and other privacy laws had the case gone to a trial.
The attorneys who filed the lawsuit may seek up to $29.6 million from the settlement fund to cover their fees and other expenses, according to court documents.
Apple to pay $95 million to settle claims it used Siri to eavesdrop on customers
Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a civil lawsuit accusing the privacy-minded company of deploying its virtual assistant Siri to eavesdrop on people using its iPhone and other trendy devices.
The proposed settlement filed Tuesday in an Oakland, California, federal court would resolve a 5-year-old lawsuit revolving around allegations that Apple surreptitiously activated Siri to record conversations through iPhones and other devices equipped with the virtual assistant for more than a decade.
The alleged recordings occurred even when people didn't seek to activate the virtual assistant with the trigger words, "Hey, Siri." Some of the recorded conversations were then shared with advertisers in an attempt to sell their products to consumers more likely to be interested in the goods and services, the lawsuit asserted.
The allegations about a snoopy Siri contradicted Apple's long-running commitment to protect the privacy of its customers — a crusade that CEO Tim Cook has often framed as a fight to preserve "a fundamental human right."
Apple isn't acknowledging any wrongdoing in the settlement, which still must be approved by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White. Lawyers in the case have proposed scheduling a Feb. 14 court hearing in Oakland to review the terms.
If the settlement is approved, tens of millions of consumers who owned iPhones and other Apple devices from Sept. 17, 2014, through the end of last year could file claims. Each consumer could receive up to $20 per Siri-equipped device covered by the settlement, although the payment could be reduced or increased, depending on the volume of claims. Only 3% to 5% of eligible consumers are expected to file claims, according to estimates in court documents.
Eligible consumers will be limited to seeking compensation on a maximum of five devices.
The settlement represents a sliver of the $705 billion in profits that Apple has pocketed since September 2014. It's also a fraction of the roughly $1.5 billion that the lawyers representing consumers had estimated Apple could been required to pay if the company had been found of violating wiretapping and other privacy laws had the case gone to a trial.
The attorneys who filed the lawsuit may seek up to $29.6 million from the settlement fund to cover their fees and other expenses, according to court documents.
Apple to pay $95 million to settle Siri privacy lawsuit
Apple agreed to pay $95 million in cash to settle a proposed class action lawsuit claiming that its voice-activated Siri assistant violated users’ privacy.
A preliminary settlement was filed on Tuesday night in the Oakland, California federal court, and requires approval by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White.
Mobile device owners complained that Apple routinely recorded their private conversations after they activated Siri unintentionally, and disclosed these conversations to third parties such as advertisers.
Voice assistants typically react when people use “hot words” such as “Hey, Siri.”
Two plaintiffs said their mentions of Air Jordan sneakers and Olive Garden restaurants triggered ads for those products. Another said he got ads for a brand name surgical treatment after discussing it, he thought privately, with his doctor.
The class period runs from Sept. 17, 2014 to Dec. 31, 2024. It began when Siri incorporated the “Hey, Siri” feature that allegedly led to the unauthorized recordings.
Class members, estimated in the tens of millions, may receive up to $20 per Siri-enabled device, such as iPhones and Apple Watches.
Apple denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle.
The Cupertino, California-based company and its lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to similar requests. They may seek up to $28.5 million in fees, plus $1.1 million for expenses, from the settlement fund.
The $95 million is about nine hours of profit for Apple, whose net income was $93.74 billion in its latest fiscal year.
A similar lawsuit on behalf of users of Google’s Voice Assistant is pending in the San Jose, California federal court, in the same district as the Oakland court. The plaintiffs are represented by the same law firms as in the Apple case.
The case is Lopez et al v. Apple Inc., U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 19-04577.
Apple to pay $95 million to settle Siri privacy lawsuit
Jan 2 (Reuters) - Apple (AAPL.O) , opens new tab agreed to pay $95 million in cash to settle a proposed class action lawsuit claiming that its voice-activated Siri assistant violated users' privacy.
A preliminary settlement was filed on Tuesday night in the Oakland, California federal court, and requires approval by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White.
Mobile device owners complained that Apple routinely recorded their private conversations after they activated Siri unintentionally, and disclosed these conversations to third parties such as advertisers.
Voice assistants typically react when people use "hot words" such as "Hey, Siri."
Two plaintiffs said their mentions of Air Jordan sneakers and Olive Garden restaurants triggered ads for those products. Another said he got ads for a brand name surgical treatment after discussing it, he thought privately, with his doctor.
The class period runs from Sept. 17, 2014 to Dec. 31, 2024. It began when Siri incorporated the "Hey, Siri" feature that allegedly led to the unauthorized recordings.
Class members, estimated in the tens of millions, may receive up to $20 per Siri-enabled device, such as iPhones and Apple Watches.
Apple denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle.
The Cupertino, California-based company and its lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to similar requests. They may seek up to $28.5 million in fees, plus $1.1 million for expenses, from the settlement fund.
The $95 million is about nine hours of profit for Apple, whose net income , opens new tab was $93.74 billion in its latest fiscal year.
A similar lawsuit on behalf of users of Google's (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab Voice Assistant is pending in the San Jose, California federal court, in the same district as the Oakland court. The plaintiffs are represented by the same law firms as in the Apple case.
The case is Lopez et al v. Apple Inc., U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 19-04577.
Millions of Apple device owners may be eligible for a payout in a proposed $95 million Siri privacy settlement
Have you ever had a private conversation, glanced at your iPhone or Apple Watch, and realized Siri had been accidentally activated? You might be entitled to a small payout.
Apple agreed to a $95 million cash payout to settle a proposed class action lawsuit alleging privacy violations tied to the Siri voice assistant.
Plaintiffs said the alleged privacy violations took place over a 10-year period from September 2014 to December 31, beginning when Apple introduced the "Hey, Siri" voice activation feature.
The lawsuit alleges Apple recorded snippets of private and confidential conversations when Siri was unintentionally activated, which were then shared with third parties, such as human reviewers and advertisers.
The company has denied any wrongdoing as part of the settlement.
After The Guardian reported in 2019 that Apple contractors frequently overheard portions of private conversations while reviewing Siri recordings for quality control, Apple issued a rare apology and announced changes to how it graded user interactions with the voice assistant.
"As a result of our review, we realize we haven't been fully living up to our high ideals, and for that we apologize," the company said in 2019.
The class-action lawsuit was filed against Apple in the wake of The Guardian's report.
Eligible class members, estimated to be in the tens of millions, can receive up to $20 per Siri-enabled device, according to a preliminary settlement filed Tuesday in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.
The proposed settlement defines eligible class members as "all individual current or former owners or purchasers of a Siri Device, who reside in the United States and its territories." They also must be willing to declare under oath that Apple recorded their confidential conversations while Siri was inadvertently activated.
The size of each individual payout will fluctuate depending on how many eligible Siri-enabled devices they own and how many total claimants there are.
Under the proposed settlement, Apple would be required to publish a webpage to explain how users can opt-in to improve Siri and what information will be stored. Additionally, Apple would have to confirm that it has permanently deleted individual audio recordings from Siri collected before October 2019.
It's now up to US District Judge Jeffrey White to approve the settlement. Lawyer fees for the plaintiffs could cost Apple an additional $28.5 million and another $1.1 million for litigation expenses, according to the court documents.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Business Insider.
Siri was first introduced in 2011 with the iPhone 4S. The tech giant is "entering a new era" of a more personal and conversational AI-powered Siri. With the help of OpenAI's ChatGPT, the revamped Siri can handle more complex requests.
The new Siri can use AI to have "on-screen awareness" and "personal context understanding," Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, during the "Glowtime" event in September 2024.
The overhauled Siri is expected to be rolled out in full next year.
