Apple offers to settle 'snooping Siri' lawsuit for an utterly incredible $95M
Even the sound of a zip could be enough to start the recordings, according to claims
Apple has filed a proposed settlement in California suggesting it will pay $95 million to settle claims that Siri recorded owners' conversations without consent and allowed contractors to listen in.
The class-action case, Lopez et al v. Apple Inc, was brought after a whistleblower at Cupertino alleged in 2019 that Siri was listening in on audio conversations without the requisite "Hey Siri" spoken command or manually activating the voice assistant. Court filings [PDF] reference that California requires consent from both parties for recordings.
"A small portion of Siri requests are analysed to improve Siri and dictation," Apple said at the time. "User requests are not associated with the user’s Apple ID. Siri responses are analysed in secure facilities and all reviewers are under the obligation to adhere to Apple’s strict confidentiality requirements."
In 2018, Tim Cook and his team were marketing Apple as big on privacy, with the slogan “Privacy. That’s iPhone,” although this offer obviously didn't apply for its Chinese customers. After being questioned about privacy in a letter from Congress, Cook stated unequivocally that Apple doesn't collect audio recordings of users without consent.
"Far from requiring a 'clear, unambiguous trigger' as Apple claimed in its response to Congress, Siri can be activated by nearly anything, including '[t]he sound of a zip' or an individual raising their arms and speaking," the complaint reads. "Once activated, Siri records everything within range of the Siri Devices’ microphone and sends it to Apple’s servers."
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Some plaintiffs also reportedly claim that the data harvested from their conversations was used to target ads, again without consent. One user claims that they received adverts for a specific medication after discussing the topic with their doctor.
The proposed class action could include anyone who owned a Siri-equipped device and was recorded without their consent since 2011. Given the broad eligibility criteria, the proposed settlement could involve many claimants, potentially diluting individual payouts.
Apple reported $93.7 billion in net income last year, so $95 million is a rounding error on the books.
The iBiz had no comment on the current situation at the time of going to press and the settlement does not require Apple to admit any wrongdoing.
Google is also facing a similar lawsuit after Belgian journalists reportedly found that the Chocolate Factory's Assistant was also listening in without authorization. That case is still unresolved, and a German investigation into the matter is also ongoing. ®