Recently, the American technology giant Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit accusing Apple of deploying its virtual assistant Siri to eavesdrop on users of iPhones and other high-end devices.
The proposed settlement was filed in Oakland, California, federal court on January 1 (Vietnam time). Accordingly, Apple will resolve a five-year-long lawsuit revolving around allegations that the company secretly enabled Siri to record conversations via iPhones and other devices with this virtual assistant for more than a decade.
According to the plaintiffs, many of the recordings were made even when users did not activate Siri. Some of the recordings were shared with businesses so they could run ads to consumers who were likely to be interested in their goods and services.
The allegations also appear to contradict Apple’s longstanding commitment to protecting customer privacy. However, Apple has so far not admitted any wrongdoing in its proposed settlement.
The proposal, however, must be approved by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White, while attorneys for the case have requested a hearing in Oakland on Feb. 14 to review the terms in more detail.
If the latest settlement proposal is approved, tens of millions of people who used iPhones and other Apple devices between September 17, 2014, and the end of last year will be able to file claims. Each person is expected to receive about $20 per device with Siri installed, a sum that could increase or decrease depending on the extent of the damages claimed.
According to court documents, only about 3 to 5 percent of eligible consumers are expected to file claims, and each person can only claim compensation for a maximum of five devices they use.
The $95 million settlement represents just a fraction of the $705 billion in profits Apple has made since September 2014. It is also a fraction of the roughly $1.5 billion that consumer advocates estimate Apple could face if it is found to have violated wiretapping and other privacy laws.
The plaintiffs' attorneys can also ask for $29.6 million of the $95 million settlement to cover fees and other costs, the court said.
