"Google/Alphabet has agreed to pay $68 million to customers who used its voice assistant and whose words were unwittingly recorded and shared with advertisers. All those creepy coincidences that people talked about in the last decade, with being fed ads for things they never actually looked up online but which they were, in fact, talking about, were not coincidences after all, at least in the cases of Google's and Apple's voice assistants."
"Now Google has done the same, after users claimed that their conversations were being recorded by Google Nest speakers even when they hadn't said "Hey Google" or any other activation phrase. A class-action suit was filed Friday in federal court in San Jose, as Reuters reports, and without admitting wrongdoing, Google is looking to settle to avoid a trial. The litigants are also seeking over $22 million in legal fees."
"The suit claimed that the devices began recording after so-called "false accepts," in which it heard certain hot words like "Hey Google" or something similar. The suit covers anyone who owned a Google Nest device from May 2016 onward. The privacy-invading claims made in the lawsuit are troubling, and Alphabet is likely hoping this story dies a quick death, and doesn't grow legs. As CBS News reports, "Some claimants alleged the Google devices recorded private conversations about financial issues, personal decisions and employment.""
Google/Alphabet agreed to pay $68 million to customers whose voice assistant interactions were unwittingly recorded and shared with advertisers. Apple previously settled a separate Siri-related class action for $95 million, with payouts already being distributed. The Google suit covers owners of Google Nest devices from May 2016 onward and alleges recordings occurred after so-called "false accepts" without saying wake words. Claimants reported recordings of private conversations about finances, personal decisions, and employment. Google seeks to settle without admitting wrongdoing, while litigants also seek over $22 million in legal fees. Individual payouts are expected to be small.
Read at sfist.com
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