In the class action lawsuit Lopez v. Apple, Inc., Apple has agreed to a $95 million settlement. The lawsuit claims that the firm secretly recorded conversations using Siri when customers mistakenly enabled it. With the settlement, allegations that the 2014 introduction of the "Hey, Siri" feature resulted in illegal recordings and violated privacy rights are settled.
Siri Privacy Breach
The case was filed between September 17, 2014, and December 31, 2021. After casually bringing up products like Olive Garden restaurants and Air Jordan sneakers, several plaintiffs had personal experiences of receiving targeted advertisements. One complaint even raised worries about data exploitation by claiming they started receiving advertisements for a medical treatment that was only discussed with their healthcare physician.
Siri's potential to accidentally record conversations when triggered by the "Hey, Siri" function is the main issue. Siri reportedly recorded private conversations without the user's knowledge or consent after being activated by words or phrases that had nothing to do with the intended command, according to users. It's possible that these recordings were saved for use in delivering tailored ads to users.
Pending Legal Review
The settlement allows claimants to pursue up to $1.1 million in expenditures and $28.5 million in legal fees. If the settlement is accepted, the individual, who could number in the tens of millions, will get up to $20 for each Apple device they own that has Siri.
Apple has accepted the compensation while denying any misconduct. Although the agreement has been submitted for approval, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White must examine and approve it before it can be distributed. Assuming the settlement be approved, it would end a major privacy challenge for Apple and compensate millions of impacted consumers.
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