Apple files US$95 million settlement for Siri’s privacy lawsuit
That's an excessively generous US$20 payout per person — barely half the amount needed to buy an official Apple MagSafe charger for your eavesdropping iPhone. #apple #lawsuit #siri
Siri, the voice assistant of Apple consumer devices. Image: Apple (WWDC 2024).
If you’ve ever wondered whether your voice assistant is eavesdropping on you to feed ‘relevant’ advertising straight to your devices, wonder no more.
As reported by Reuters, Apple has agreed to a US$95 million (~S$130 million) cash settlement for a proposed class action lawsuit claiming that Siri invaded the privacy of its users.
The settlement was filed in a Californian federal court (Oakland) and is pending approval by a U.S. District Judge.
The original class action lawsuit, which claims Siri invaded privacy, covers the period from September 2014 to December 2024, when the “Hey Siri” voice command was available on Apple devices such as iPhones, Apple Watches, and iPads.
Reuters highlighted two of the many examples: One plaintiff said that their discussion of sneakers (Air Jordans) and dining options (Olive Garden) triggered advertisements for those products. Another plaintiff said that discussing a specific brand-name surgical treatment with their doctor also triggered these advertisements.
Since it’s a class action lawsuit, the US$95 million settlement would amount to a whopping US$20 per person (~S$27.36/pax) if paid out. That doesn’t yet factor in lawyer fees and expenses, which will be clawed out from the settlement fund.
For context, the Apple MagSafe Charger for iPhones (2m in length) retails at S$79 on the official online Apple Store in Singapore, so you need the payouts of about three persons to afford one charger. That's incredibly generous of Apple, which has a measly US$93.74 billion net income in its previous fiscal year.
As seen on Ars Technica (PDF), the case is Lopez v. Apple, Inc., as seen in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California.
Source: Reuters, Ars Technica
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