A federal judge said on Thursday that Apple Inc. must face charges in light of its voice assistant Siri, which he claims violates user privacy.
Jeffrey White, the US District Judge, said the accusers could attempt to prove Siri’s routine recording of their private conversations.
They also have to prove that Apple published their conversation to third parties after their “Siri’s accidental activation” claim.
Voice assistant apps usually react when the user says certain ‘hot’ words like “Hey, Siri.”
An Apple user said he received targeted ads for surgical treatment after he discussed it privately with his doctor.
Two others received ads about products like Air Jordan sneakers, Pit Viper sunglasses and “Olive Garden” after they had a discussion about them.
“Apple faults plaintiffs for not alleging the contents of their communications,” wrote White.
“However, the private setting alone is enough to show a reasonable expectation of privacy,” he continued.
The Oakland, California-based judge said the plaintiffs may pursue claims that Apple violated the federal Wiretap Act and California privacy law, and committed breach of contract.
The Oakland judge, who resides in California, said the accusers may claim that Apple violated the federal Wiretap Act and California privacy law.
In addition, the judge dismissed an unfair competition claim.
The Cupertino, California-based Apple was not immediately available for comment requests.
Also, plaintiffs’ lawyers did not respond to similar requests.
Another federal judge in California said on July 1, that users of Google Voice Assistant could pursue similar lawsuits.
The same law firms in the Apple case could present the lawsuits against Google and its parent company, Alphabet Inc.
Amazon.com Inc. has encountered similar charges over the Alexa voice assistant it owns.
The case details are Lopez et al. v. Apple Inc., US District Court, Northern District of California, No. 19-04577.
