"iPhone Siri Eavesdropping?"... Apple Submits 140 Billion Won Settlement Proposal

Victim Side Claims "Unauthorized Private Conversation Recording"
Apple Submits '$20 Per Device Settlement' to Court
Must Prove Device Purchased Within U.S. Territory
Settlement Available... Up to 5 Devices Per Person
However, Settlement Does Not Admit Personal Data Leakage

iPhone 16 Series. Photo by Apple, Yonhap News

Apple has agreed to pay a large sum to consumers in a lawsuit alleging that it secretly collected personal information through its voice assistant Siri, which is installed on iPhones and other devices.

On the 2nd (local time), foreign media including the Associated Press (AP) reported, "Apple submitted a preliminary settlement worth a total of $95 million (about 140 billion KRW) to the federal court in Oakland, California, on the 31st of last month." According to AP, Apple submitted a preliminary settlement worth a total of $95 million (about 140 billion KRW) to the federal court in Oakland, California, on the 31st of last month.

According to the settlement, consumers who used Apple devices equipped with Siri, such as iPhones, iPads, or Apple Watches, from September 17, 2014, until last year can receive $20 per device. The number of devices eligible for settlement payment is limited to a maximum of five per person. Claimants must have purchased and owned the devices within U.S. territory and prove that Siri was activated on those devices without their consent.

The plaintiffs in this lawsuit claimed that Siri was secretly activated and eavesdropped on users' conversations even though they did not invoke Siri by voice, and that some of the conversation content was shared with companies for use in advertisements and other purposes. The lawsuit included cases where users received targeted ads for Nike sneakers "Air Jordan" after talking near Apple devices. However, Apple did not admit to these claims in the settlement.

The settlement must be approved by the court to take effect. Apple predicts that only 3 to 5% of eligible consumers will actually claim the settlement payment. The AP analyzed, "This settlement amount is only a small fraction of the $705 billion (about 1,037 trillion KRW) in profits Apple has earned since September 2014," and "It is also only a fraction compared to the estimated $1.5 billion (about 2.2 trillion KRW) Apple might have had to pay if found guilty of violating privacy laws and taken to trial."