What to know about Apple's $95 million settlement of the snooping Siri case
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Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit that accused the company of turning its virtual assistant Siri into a snoop that eavesdropped on the users of iPhones and other trendy devices in a betrayal to its long-standing commitment to personal privacy.
The proposed settlement filed in federal court earlier this week still needs to be approved by a judge, but here are a few things to know about the case and the privacy issues that it raised. WHAT WAS THE LAWSUIT ABOUT?. The Wood Law Firm, which specializes in class-action lawsuits, filed the complaint against Apple in August 2019, shortly after The Guardian newspaper published an article alleging that Siri's microphone had been surreptitiously turned on to record conversations occurring without the users' knowledge.
Apple issued a September 2014 software update that was supposed to activate the virtual assistant only with the triggering words “Hey, Siri,” but The Guardian story alleged Siri was listening and recording conversations at other times to help improve the company’s technology.
The story led to the lawsuit, which later raised allegations that Apple shared some of the conversations that Siri secretly recorded with advertisers looking to connect with consumers who were more likely to buy their products and services. HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE COVERED BY THE SETTLEMENT?.
