Siri, Apple’s voice assistant, has become the subject of a lawsuit filed in u.S. Courts. According to users, after private discussions in which the voice assistant was activated, they began to receive targeted ads related to mentioned items: a user received advertisements for The Air Jordan sneakers after talking about the product with a friend.
Judge Jeffrey White of the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California gave permission for users to prove that Siri routinely recorded conversations through “accidental activation,” and that Apple sold information from those conversations to third parties.
Siri, like other voice assistants, is usually activated through a key phrase. In america, it’s “Hey Siri.” In Brazil, the magic words are: “What’s up, Siri?”.
Cases in the process vary, but all users complain that they received targeted ads after talking about a specific product.
In one of the examples of the process, Siri allegedly overheard a conversation about surgical treatment. Then the person began to receive advertisements disclosing that specific procedure. In another case, two users complain that they have begun receiving ads related to what they discussed: Air Jordan sneakers, Pit Viper glasses and the Olive Garden restaurant chain. According to them, Siri heard the conversations.
Apple may be convicted of violating Federal Wiretapping Act
The California judge in Oakmont confirmed that users can pursue the claim that Apple violated the Federal Wiretapping Act — made to protect connections and communication between U.S. citizens — and the California State Privacy Act. In addition, the company may have made a breach of contract if siri’s listening was used by third parties.
Neither Apple nor the users suing the company responded to Reuters’ request to comment on the case.
In early July, another California federal judge said users of Google Assistant, the company’s artificial voice intelligence, can sue Google and Alphabet — the search engine-holding company — for similar reasons. The law firm that represents the Google Assistant and Siri cases is the same.
Amazon has also faced similar lawsuits in U.S. Courts over its own voice assistant, Alexa. In Brazil, the company recently launched Echo Show 5 and 8 devices, which come with AI software.
