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?
Tens of millions of U.S consumers who owned or purchased iPhones and other devices equipped with Siri from September 17, 2014, through the end of last year will be eligible to file claims.
HOW MUCH MONEY WILL EACH ELIGIBLE CONSUMER RECEIVE?
It's far too early to tell for certain, but the settlement currently envisions paying out up to $20 per Siri-enabled device, with each consumer limited to a maximum. The final amount could be affected by two factors: the number of claims and how much of the settlement fund is reduced to cover legal fees and costs.
A claims administrator estimates only 3% to 5% of eligible consumers will file claims. The lawyers in the case currently are seeking nearly $30 million in fees and expenses, but that figure could still be lowered by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White, who is overseeing the case in Oakland, California. A proposed Feb. 14 court hearing has been proposed to review the settlement terms.
DID APPLE BREAK ANY LAWS?
If the allegations were true, Apple may have violated federal wiretapping laws and other statutes designed to protect people's privacy. But Apple adamantly denied any wrongdoing and maintained that it would have been cleared of any misconduct had the case gone to trial. Lawyers representing the consumers asserted that Apple's misbehavior was so egregious that the company could have been liable for $1.5 billion in damages if it lost the case.
Although Apple hasn't explained the reasons for making the settlement, major companies often decide it makes more sense to resolve class-action cases rather than to continue to run up legal costs and risk the chance of potentially bad publicity. The lawsuit also targeted one of Apple's core values framing privacy as a “fundamental human right.”
Although $95 million sounds like a lot of money, it's a pittance for Apple. Since September 2014, the company's total profits have exceeded $700 billion — a streak of prosperity that has helped propel the company's market value to about $3.7 trillion.
DO I NEED TO BE WORRIED ABOUT THE MICROPHONES ON OTHER DEVICES SPYING ON ME?
Perhaps. A case similar to the one filed against Siri is still active in a San Jose, California, federal court against Google and the virtual assistant in its Android software, which has been widely used in smartphones for years.
JUST IN CASE, HOW DO I DISABLE SIRI?
You can turn Apple’s virtual assistant off by following these simple steps:
1. Navigate to Settings Siri & Search.
2. Toggle off Listen for ‘Hey Siri’ and press the Side button for Siri.
3. Tap Turn Off Siri when a pop-up window appears.
You can also disable individual apps' access to your iPhone's mic by doing the following: Navigate to Settings (select the app) then toggle off Microphone.