Apple will pay $95 million to settle a civil lawsuit in which the privacy-minded company was accused of deploying virtual assistant Siri to eavesdrop on people using iPhones and other trendy devices. Agreed.
The proposed settlement, filed Tuesday in federal court in Oakland, California, resolves allegations that Apple secretly activated Siri to record conversations through iPhones and other devices equipped with virtual assistants for more than a decade. This resolves a five-year-old lawsuit over the
The alleged recordings occurred even when people were not attempting to launch the virtual assistant with the trigger word “Hey, Siri.” Portions of the recorded conversations were then shared with advertisers for the purpose of selling products to consumers who were more likely to be interested in the products or services, the lawsuit alleged.
The allegations about Snoopy’s Siri reflect Apple’s longstanding commitment to protecting customer privacy, a movement that CEO Tim Cook has often framed as a fight to protect “fundamental human rights.” It was contradictory.
Apple has not admitted wrongdoing in the settlement, which 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 consider the terms.
If the settlement is approved, tens of millions of consumers who owned iPhones and other Apple devices between September 17, 2014 and the end of last year could file claims. Each consumer can receive up to $20 for each Siri-enabled device covered by the settlement, but payments may be reduced or increased depending on the amount of the claim. Court documents estimate that only 3% to 5% of eligible consumers are expected to file a claim.
Eligible consumers are limited to seeking coverage for up to five devices.
The settlement represents a fraction of the $705 billion in profits Apple has reaped since September 2014. It also represents a portion of the roughly $1.5 billion that consumer lawyers estimate Apple will have to pay if it is found to have breached the wiretapping violations. and other privacy laws brought to court.
Lawyers who filed the lawsuit could seek up to $29.6 million in a settlement fund to cover fees and other costs, according to court documents.
