$95 million 'Siri' penalty for Apple
US tech giant Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging that its voice assistant technology, "Siri," violated user privacy.
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The preliminary settlement, which must be approved by Judge Jeffrey White of the Northern District of California, was submitted to the federal court in Oakland.
The lawsuit in question was filed on the grounds that "Siri" could be activated unintentionally and that conversations recorded without user consent were shared with third parties.
Although Apple denies the allegations, it has agreed to pay $95 million to settle the case.
If the settlement is approved, users who owned "Siri"-enabled devices could receive payments of up to $20 per device.
The agreement will cover users in the US who owned a Siri-enabled iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, MacBook, iMac, HomePod, iPod touch, or Apple TV between September 17, 2014, and December 31, 2024.
The voice assistant technology "Siri" was first featured on iPhone 4S models released in 2011.
The "Hey Siri" feature, which allows users to activate "Siri" hands-free, was introduced in 2014.