French prosecutors have opened a criminal probe into the US tech giant over allegations it recorded users without their consent
French prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into Apple over allegations that its voice assistant Siri collected and analyzed user recordings without proper consent. The probe has been entrusted to France’s cybercrime agency, the Paris prosecutor’s office has told Politico and Reuters.
The investigation follows a complaint filed in February by a French NGO, based on testimony from whistleblower Thomas Le Bonniec, a former employee of an Apple subcontractor, who says he listened to thousands of Siri recordings as part of quality-control work in 2019.
Le Bonniec reportedly worked for Globe Technical Services in Ireland, where he reviewed and annotated audio clips to help improve Siri’s accuracy. He told Politico that the material sometimes revealed “intimate moments and confidential information,” which could be used to identify users.
The whistleblower has welcomed the probe, saying it should allow “urgent questions to be answered,” including how many recordings were made since Siri’s launch and where the data is stored.
An Apple representative in France told Politico that the company “has never used Siri data to create marketing profiles, has never made it available for advertising and has never sold it to anyone for any reason whatsoever.”
Read more EU could fine Meta $22 million per day – ReutersApple also told Reuters that it has tightened Siri’s privacy controls since 2019, and again this year. The company said conversations with Siri “were never shared with marketers or sold to advertisers.”
In January, the company also stressed it would not keep “audio recordings of interactions with Siri, unless the user explicitly agrees.”
Apple has faced a similar class-action lawsuit in the US where its voice assistant has been accused of inadvertently recording private conversations, which were reviewed by third-party contractors as part of a quality-control.
Earlier this year, the tech giant agreed to a $95 million settlement, which a federal judge approved last month. The deal provides payouts of up to $20 per Siri-enabled device for users who owned Apple products between 2014 and 2024. Apple has also been ordered to delete older Siri recordings within six months.
Hence then, the article about apple s siri accused of eavesdropping on users politico was published today ( ) and is available on Russia Today ( News ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Apple’s Siri accused of eavesdropping on users – Politico )
Also on site :
- Kentucky congressman announces death of longtime staffer, campaign manager
- The Christmas Day Storm
- Camarillo man arrested after stolen camera reactivated and installed on the exterior of a home