TECH NEWS – Apple is paying a hefty settlement in a class-action lawsuit, which is the equivalent of chump change for the company…

In 2019, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Apple over Siri’s ability to activate itself against our will, allowing contractors to eavesdrop on white users’ conversations. At the time, the Cupertino-based company was using outsiders to evaluate recordings of its voice assistant in order to improve the service. But it backfired, and five years later the case against Apple was settled, with the company paying $95 million while denying any wrongdoing. The millions of affected users will receive $20 per device (that supports Siri), but the lawyers will take home most of the money.

The plea was filed in a California federal court on Tuesday evening, and according to Reuters, the amount must be accepted by District Judge Jeffrey White. Details (such as how the amount will be received) are not yet known. Neither side’s lawyers have commented, but they will receive nearly a third of the amount, with $28.5 million for their services and $1.1 million for costs. But as we said, that’s chump change for Apple. The company raises $95 million in about nine hours, and in its last fiscal year it generated $93.74 billion in profits. What we can really say is that compared to that, $95 million is really the equivalent of a coin that accidentally falls out of your hand and rolls away.

During the lawsuit, two plaintiffs claimed that after discussing products such as Air Jordan and Olive Garden during a verbal conversation, they began receiving targeted advertisements about those products on their devices, while another plaintiff claimed to have received something similar about surgical treatment after a private conversation with a doctor. However, Apple continues to deny any alleged infringement and liability. The company specifically denies each and every one of the plaintiffs’ allegations and claims, and continues to deny that the plaintiffs’ allegations and claims qualify for class action status – so it likely only agreed to this to avoid more litigation costs later….

A settlement website will eventually be set up to identify those eligible for the $20 payment. Each class member can claim up to five Siri devices, for a total of $100 each…

Source: WCCFTech