Lawsuit Over Alleged Unlawful Siri Listening by Apple Resolved with a $95million Settlement
In a significant development, tech giant Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a class-action lawsuit regarding allegations that Siri, its digital assistant, was eavesdropping on iPhone and Apple Watch owners without their consent. The lawsuit was first filed in 2019.
At the heart of the controversy is the claim that Siri was regularly recording some users' conversations, even when it was not explicitly activated by the wake word, and these recordings were sent to Apple contractors to grade Siri's responses. Private conversations, unrelated to Siri commands, such as doctor-patient discussions and personal conversations, were sometimes heard by these contractors.
Apple did not disclose this practice in its privacy documentation and initially did not offer users a way to opt-in or out of these recordings being reviewed. After public backlash, Apple apologised, halted the grading program temporarily, and later implemented an opt-in system in iOS 13.2 (October 2019) that allowed users to choose whether their Siri audio data could be used for grading.
Despite these changes, the long-running practice led to the class-action lawsuit covering Siri users over nearly ten years. The settlement, which was agreed to in 2024, aims to compensate affected users.
It is worth noting that Siri can collect consumer information in the absence of a trigger word or trigger phrase, like "Hey, Siri." Moreover, Siri can be activated by various unintended triggers, such as the sound of a zip or an individual raising their arms and speaking. This high regularity of triggers on Siri devices, including the Apple Watch, has been a significant concern.
The settlement also requires Apple to confirm deletion of Siri recordings made before the change to opt-in and to improve transparency about data collection and user control over it. However, the proposed settlement permits Apple to deny any and all wrongdoing, including the lawsuit's claims about recording, disclosing, or failing to delete conversations.
If the settlement is approved, each class member could be paid up to $20 for each Siri-enabled device owned between 2014 and 2019. It is important to note that some plaintiffs in the lawsuit reported receiving targeted advertisements for products they discussed with Siri, such as brand name surgical treatments, Air Jordan sneakers, Pit Viper sunglasses, and Olive Garden restaurants.
The lawsuit states that Apple knows unauthorized recordings are common, yet it has not informed consumers about this. Furthermore, it is alleged that Apple has not made a good-faith effort to rectify widespread problems, including accidental activations, despite having no system in place to handle such incidents.
This settlement underscores the importance of transparency and user control in data collection practices, particularly in the tech industry. As technology continues to evolve, it is crucial for companies to prioritise user privacy and ensure that their practices align with user expectations and legal requirements.
In light of the agreement, Apple, a tech giant known for its personal-finance app, will compensate users as part of a $95 million settlement regarding privacy breaches with Siri. To safeguard user privacy and maintain transparency in data collection moving forward, tech companies must prioritize these issues in their developments and practices.
