Apple to pay $95m in Siri privacy lawsuit settlement
Apple has agreed to a $95 million settlement to resolve a lawsuit accusing the tech giant of violating users’ privacy through Siri, its voice assistant.
The preliminary settlement, which seeks to end a five-year legal battle, was filed on Tuesday in a federal court in Oakland, California.
The lawsuit alleged that Apple secretly allowed Siri to record private conversations without user consent and shared those recordings with third parties, including advertisers.
The claims, however, contrast Apple’s public stance on privacy, which Tim Cook, the chief executive officer (CEO), has often described as “a fundamental human right”.
The California-based company has reportedly denied the allegations but opted to settle the case.
The proposed agreement, according to international media, is subject to approval by Jeffrey White, US district judge, with a hearing scheduled for February 14, 2025.
If approved, the settlement will allow eligible consumers who owned Siri-enabled devices between September 17, 2014, and December 31, 2023, to file claims.
Claimants could receive up to $20 per Siri-enabled device, such as iPhones and Apple watches.
The $95 million settlement is said to be a fraction of Apple’s financial scale, representing only about nine hours of profit for the company.
The tech company had reported a net income of $93.74 billion in its most recent fiscal year and has accumulated an estimated $705 billion in profits since 2014.
A Reuters report said attorneys representing the plaintiffs may seek up to $28.5 million in fees, plus $1.1 million for expenses from the settlement fund.
Meanwhile, a similar lawsuit against Google’s Voice Assistant is ongoing in a federal court in San Jose, California.
The same legal team is handling both cases.
