Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a class-action lawsuit against Siri, the tech giant’s AI virtual assistant, accusing it of eavesdropping on people using its services on iPhones and other devices.
The news comes after a federal filing on Tuesday for the proposed settlement in Oakland, California. This move would resolve a five-year-old lawsuit focused on allegations that Apple secretly activated Siri to record conversations on iPhones and other Siri-enabled devices for over a decade.
The virtual assistant which is typically activated after saying the trigger words “Hey Siri,” allegedly recorded users without their knowledge and instruction. The lawsuit also alleged that the recordings were then shared with advertisers to boost consumer sales.
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The allegations about Siri’s unauthorized recordings stand in stark contrast to Apple’s longstanding commitment to customer privacy— a cause CEO Tim Cook has frequently championed to preserve “a fundamental human right.”
The proposed settlement, which is yet to be approved by the U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White, doesn’t acknowledge Apple’s wrongdoing. Lawyers on the case have proposed Feb. 14 for the court hearing to review the terms of the settlement.
How much will each person get for Apple settlement?
The Associated Press reported that if the settlement is approved, millions of customers who owned iPhones and other Apple devices from Sept. 17, 2014, through the end of 2024 could file claims.
Reportedly, each consumer could receive up to an estimated $20 per Siri-equipped device covered by the settlement, depending on the volume of claims. Only 3% to 5% of eligible consumers are expected to file claims, the court documents cited.
The maximum limit for devices will be limited to five for eligible customers seeking compensation.
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Will the lawsuit hurt Apple financially?
The settlement amount of $95 million represents a sliver of the $705 billion in profits that Apple has pocketed since September 2014. The sum is also just a fraction of the approximately $1.5 billion that the plaintiffs’ lawyers had estimated Apple might have been required to pay if the company were found to have violated wiretapping and other privacy laws during a trial.
The court documents also reveal that the attorneys who filed the lawsuit may request up to $29.6 million from the settlement fund to cover their fees and expenses.