Newsletters
Google has agreed to pay $68 million to resolve a privacy lawsuit alleging that its voice assistant technology, Google Assistant, recorded private conversations without user consent.
The settlement, filed in a California federal court, follows accusations that the system captured audio even when it was not deliberately activated by users.
Google said it agreed to pay the settlement to avoid protracted litigation without admitting wrongdoing, and the deal is subject to approval by U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman.
The complaint, filed on Jan. 23, claims that Android devices running Google Assistant were frequently triggered without the required wake phrases, such as "Hey Google" or "Okay Google." As a result, private conversations were allegedly recorded and transmitted to Google's servers without users’ knowledge or intent
While the Assistant is designed to respond to voice commands after detecting specific activation words, the lawsuit argues that false activations allowed the system to collect and store personal conversations.
The voice assistant feature is available across various devices, including Google smartphones, smart speakers, laptops, tablets, and wireless headphones. This widespread integration reportedly increased the risk of unintended data collection, as millions of users regularly interact with these products in everyday environments.
According to the lawsuit, this inadvertent data transmission constitutes a violation of user privacy and contradicts Google’s stated policies on consent and transparency.
The case against Google comes shortly after Apple reached a $95 million settlement earlier this month involving similar privacy concerns with its Siri voice assistant. The lawsuit also said Siri listened in and stored private chats without permission, adding to the mounting legal heat on tech companies over voice assistants.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
