Apple to pay $95 million for secret wiretapping through Siri
Kyiv • UNN
Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit over unauthorized recording of Siri conversations. Starting in 2014, iPhone owners will be able to receive up to $20 in compensation for each device.
Apple will pay $95 million to settle a civil lawsuit in which the company is accused of wiretapping iPhone owners and other company devices using its virtual assistant Siri. This was reported by CBS News, according to UNN.
Details
The proposed settlement will end a 5-year lawsuit involving allegations that Apple secretly activated Siri to record conversations on iPhones and other devices equipped with the virtual assistant for more than a decade.
The recordings occurred even when people did not try to activate the virtual assistant by saying “Hello, Siri.” Some of the recorded conversations were passed on to advertisers to sell their products to consumers who were likely to be interested in the goods and services, the lawsuit claimed.
The allegations of Siri spying run counter to Apple's longstanding commitment to protecting the privacy of its customers.
Apple does not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement agreement, which is yet to be approved by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White. Lawyers in the case have proposed to schedule a court hearing in Oakland for February 14 to review the terms.
If the settlement is approved, tens of millions of consumers who owned iPhones and other Apple devices from September 17, 2014, through the end of last year will be eligible to file claims. Each consumer could receive up to $20 per Siri device covered by the settlement, although the amount of the payout could be reduced or increased depending on the volume of claims. Only 3-5% of eligible consumers are expected to file claims.
Eligible consumers will be able to receive compensation for a maximum of five devices.
The settlement is only a fraction of Apple's $705 billion in profits since September 2014. It is also a fraction of the approximately $1.5 billion that consumer lawyers estimate Apple would have had to pay if the company had been found guilty of violating wiretapping and other privacy laws if the case had gone to trial.
In addition, the lawyers who filed the lawsuit can receive up to $29.6 million from the settlement fund to cover their fees and other expenses.
Recall
Apple shares have risen by 16% since November, adding $500 billion to the company's market value. The growth is attributed to the enthusiasm for AI and expectations of a new iPhone “super cycle.
