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Apple to pay $95 million to settle Siri privacy case Reuters


Written by Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) – Apple has agreed to pay $95 million in cash to settle a proposed lawsuit that its voice assistant Siri violated users’ privacy.

The preliminary ruling was filed Tuesday night in federal court in Oakland, California, and requires the approval of US District Judge Jeffrey White.

Owners of the mobile devices complained that Apple kept recording their private conversations after they deliberately turned on Siri, and disclosed these conversations to third parties such as advertisers.

Voice assistants often respond when people use “hot words” like “Hey, Siri.”

The two plaintiffs said their mentions of Air Jordan sneakers and Olive Garden restaurants resulted in advertisements for those products. Another said he found advertisements for a type of surgical treatment after discussing it, he thought privately with his doctor.

The class period runs from September 17, 2014 to December 31, 2024. It began when Siri included the “Hey, Siri” feature that allegedly led to the unauthorized recording.

Members of the group, estimated to number in the tens of millions, can earn up to $20 per Siri-enabled device, such as iPhones and Apple Watches.

Apple denied wrongdoing by agreeing to settle.

The Cupertino, California-based company and its lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment 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 in costs, from the settlement fund.

The $95 million is nearly nine times the profit for Apple, whose revenue was $93.74 billion in its most recent fiscal year.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: An attendee holds two iPhone 16s as Apple hosts an event at the Steve Jobs Theater on its campus in Cupertino, California, US September 9, 2024. REUTERS/Manuel Orbegozo/File Photo

A similar lawsuit representing users of Google (NASDAQ:)’s Voice Assistant is pending in federal court in San Jose, California, 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 (NASDAQ:)., US District Court, Northern District of California, No. 19-04577.





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