Excerpt from TechRadar Article, Published on Feb 20, 2025.
Apple is once again facing legal trouble, this time in France, as it deals with accusations of a GDPR violation related to Siri’s data collection practices. The latest privacy complaint, filed by the French human rights NGO Ligue des droits de l’Homme (LDH), alleges that Apple unlawfully processed Siri’s voice recordings without user consent, violating data protection laws. The complaint, submitted to the Paris prosecutor on February 13, 2025, follows a similar legal battle in the U.S., where Apple recently settled a lawsuit for $95 million over comparable allegations. Although Apple did not admit wrongdoing, the lawsuit accused Siri of disclosing private conversations to advertisers. The settlement in California has only fueled further scrutiny, with France now questioning Apple’s compliance with privacy regulations, particularly regarding GDPR violations.
Whistleblower Thomas Le Bonniec, a former employee of Globe Technical Services (GTS) in Ireland, exposed Apple’s alleged data mishandling. According to Le Bonniec, Siri often recorded users without their knowledge, and employees were tasked with transcribing and tagging the audio data. These recordings included highly private conversations, sometimes triggered accidentally, which were then linked to personal data such as contacts, geolocation, and preferences. LDH argues that Apple’s practices violate GDPR, emphasizing the lack of informed consent from users. LDH president Nathalie Tehio stated that Apple engaged in unauthorized surveillance by recording and storing personal conversations without explicit user approval. The organization views this as both an invasion of privacy and a direct breach of GDPR compliance requirements.
In response, Apple has reiterated its commitment to privacy, stating that it no longer retains Siri audio recordings and provides users with opt-in options. However, with mounting legal challenges and increased regulatory scrutiny, the tech giant’s handling of Siri data remains under intense examination. Whether this complaint triggers a larger investigation into Apple’s data practices remains uncertain, but concerns over Siri and GDPR violations continue to grow.
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