Apple Settles Siri Eavesdropping Lawsuit for $95 Million

In a significant development, Apple has reached a $95 million settlement to resolve claims that its virtual assistant, Siri, was unlawfully eavesdropping on users and sharing recordings with third parties.

Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle allegations that its Siri virtual assistant was listening to users without their consent. The lawsuit claimed that Apple recorded conversations activated by Siri unintentionally and shared these recordings with advertisers for targeted ad purposes. Although Apple denies any wrongdoing, the settlement allows them to avoid a potentially more costly court battle. Lead plaintiff Fumiko Lopez, along with others, alleges that they were recorded by Siri and subsequently received targeted advertisements. If approved, eligible claimants who owned Siri-enabled devices from 2014 to 2019 could receive up to $20 per device.

The settlement proposal is expected to be decided by February 14 in a Northern California court. Apple has faced multiple class action lawsuits in recent years, notably involving the alleged intentional slowing down of iPhones and issues regarding its iCloud services. A similar lawsuit is also being pursued against Google for its device eavesdropping practices.