Privacy Invasion: Concerned Consumers Want to See Alexa and Siri in Court
The idea of someone accessing your private information is troubling. However, the thought that someone – or something – might be able to tap into your conversations, record them, and use the information to their advantage is truly frightening.
However, as artificial intelligence becomes more integrated into our daily lives, privacy violations occur more often.
Lawsuits Filed over Privacy Issues with Virtual Assistants
One lawsuit, Lopez et al. v Apple Inc., initiated five years ago, addressing this issue, appears to be nearing a conclusion. The federal judge in the case recently approved a preliminary settlement that may lead to Apple paying $95 million to plaintiffs who have alleged the company violated their privacy through Siri, Apple’s well-known virtual assistant.
The plaintiffs allege Siri was activated on their devices without their knowledge and their conversations could be fed to Apple workers. They also allege that the company provided advertisers with the personal information it collected.
Judge Jeffrey S. White of the Northern District of California will consider final approval on August 1.
Although it will still take time to determine the exact number of claimants who will receive part of the settlement, it is estimated that millions of Apple phone owners could receive at least $20 under the terms of the agreement.
The original complaint against Apple was filed on August 7, 2019. In large part, it was spurred by an investigative piece published in the Guardian, which revealed Siri had the capability of tracking conversations without the user’s knowledge.
Apple first introduced Siri as a virtual assistant app in 2011, with the creation of the iPhone 4S. This was followed in 2014 with the launch of Siri’s speaking feature (“Hey, Siri”), allowing phone users to activate the assistant by voice instead of by a button.
According to the Guardian, Siri could easily start recording audio clips of conversations it wasn’t meant to hear, and some of these recordings became available to contractors – human workers in different parts of the world.
In the lawsuit, plaintiffs alluded to the Guardian investigation and also noted instances where advertisers with big names like Air Jordan and Olive Garden would suddenly show up on their feed soon after they mentioned the companies’ names during private phone conversations.
The class period runs from Sept. 17, 2014, through Dec. 31, 2024. Consumers who owned iPhones, iPads, and other Apple devices from Sept. 17, 2014, through the end of 2024 are eligible to file claims and will be limited to five devices for their claim.
Google’s Cloud Contact Center Faces Allegations
Apple is not the only Big Tech company handling class actions due to privacy matters surrounding AI voice assistants.
On Feb. 10, U.S. District Judge Rita F. Lin, also in the Northern District of California, refused a request made by lawyers for Google and its parent company, Alphabet Inc., to dismiss a lawsuit holding Google liable for violations under California’s privacy act.
This lawsuit goes back to October of 2023, when plaintiffs filed Ambriz et al. v. Google LLC, focusing on Google Cloud Contact Center AI (“GCCCAI”), which is marketed to support customer service centers.
Top corporations that use GCCCAI include Verizon, Hulu, GoDaddy, and Home Depot.
The lawsuit alleged that when a consumer called one of the AI-powered contact centers, they were presented with a virtual agent provided by Google. However, the virtual agents were not identified as being provided by Google. Along with that, the plaintiffs allege the virtual agent, through GCCCAI, was able to record and store their personal information.
Through GCCCAI, Google wrongfully “collects, uses, and discloses user audio recordings, and this is a breach of Google’s privacy policy,” according to the lawsuit.
In her decision last month, Judge Lin reminded the lawyers that it is prohibited for “any person receiving subscriber information from a satellite or cable television corporation” from “using any electronic device to record, transmit, or observe any events or listen to record, or monitor any conversations that take place inside a subscriber’s residence.”
The date for the trial is still pending.
A Lawsuit against Alexa
Amazon also faced legal scrutiny due to its popular virtual assistant, Alexa.
In 2023, the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) cited Amazon for breaking the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Rule (COPPA Rule) due to Alexa recording and storing children’s voices and geophysical location information without parental approval. Eventually, Amazon was forced to pay a civil penalty of $25 million to settle the federal charges.
Under the COPPA Rule, companies that provide direct services to children under 13 years of age must notify parents about the information they collect and obtain the guardian’s consent. They must also allow, at any time, the parents to delete the information (retaining the information of children longer than is reasonable to provide the service is also not allowed).
According to a press release by the FTC, Amazon did not follow the COPPA Rule. Instead, it used the information it collected to improve the algorithm of the company’s technology. It kept children’s data for years, and at the same time, it did this after “prominently and repeatedly” assuring parents it could delete their children’s recordings.
Although Amazon paid the fine, the company pushed back against the regulators, saying it had “consistently taken steps” to protect customer privacy and consumer data. The company also pointed out the creation of Amazon Kids, a service that enables parents to manage content to comply with the children’s online privacy law.
How to Secure your Privacy while Using a Voice Assistant
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has published a guide on its website to help users protect themselves from privacy issues while using voice assistants like Siri and Alexa. The FTC urges consumers to gain an understanding of how devices and AI tools work before they begin using them as well as securing logins with multi-factor authentication.
Click here for the complete guide.
