While legal disputes have become a common occurrence among global tech giants, Apple is on the verge of resolving one. This case involves a privacy lawsuit over Siri, with the iPhone maker agreeing to pay $95 million to settle the matter. The lawsuit, filed five years ago in 2019, accused the Cupertino-based company of illegally and intentionally recording Siri interactions, thereby infringing on users' privacy rights.
The issue arose when Apple introduced the "Hey Siri" feature, leading to allegations of unauthorized recording of user conversations. Many iPhone users complained that their devices, via the popular voice assistant Siri, recorded their private conversations and shared this information with third parties, such as advertisers, who used it to influence ad placements on users' devices.
In fact, two individuals in the lawsuit claimed that their private conversations triggered ads for products they had discussed in real life, such as Air Jordan sneakers and Olive Garden restaurants. The specific period during which the alleged issues occurred, known as the "class period," was from September 17, 2014, to December 31, 2024.
In the latest development, a preliminary settlement agreement was filed on December 31, 2024, in the U.S. District Court in Oakland, California. Although Apple agreed to settle the case, it denied any wrongdoing. The settlement still requires approval from U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White. Interestingly, the millions of people involved in the class action could receive up to $20 per Siri-enabled device they own, such as iPhones and Apple Watches.
Meanwhile, even if this settlement is approved, the pile of lawsuits against Apple is unlikely to diminish. In March 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a comprehensive antitrust lawsuit, accusing the tech giant of creating an illegal monopoly in the smartphone market.
Comparing the $95 million settlement to Apple's financial scale, the company reported revenues of $391 billion in 2024, a slight decrease from $394.3 billion in 2023. Its net income for 2024 was $93.74 billion.
However, Apple is not the only company facing substantial legal penalties. Just last month, Microsoft faced a £1 billion lawsuit in the UK, alleging that the company abused its dominant position in operating systems by charging higher fees to businesses using its software on competing cloud platforms. Similarly, a lawsuit on behalf of Google Assistant users is still pending in the U.S. District Court in San Jose, California.
