French prosecutors have opened a cybercrime investigation into how Apple handles voice recordings collected by Siri. The Paris prosecutor’s office said the case has been referred to the Office for Combating Cybercrime, focusing on whether Apple’s collection and review of audio complies with privacy law.
Apple says Siri audio sharing is opt‑in and used only to improve the assistant. The company’s policy allows some recordings to be retained for analysis and reviewed by human graders to assess accuracy. Apple pointed to its January privacy update reiterating those practices.
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The probe reportedly follows a complaint from French human‑rights group Ligue des droits de l’Homme, which cited whistleblower testimony about contractors hearing sensitive snippets triggered by accidental activations. Investigators are expected to examine consent, retention periods, and safeguards for any third‑party review.
Why it matters: Europe has steadily tightened scrutiny of U.S. tech firms on privacy and data handling. A formal probe could lead to fines or changes in how Siri recordings are processed in the EU.
What you can do now
Concerned about past snippets on your devices? You can delete Siri & Dictation history and reduce false triggers by stopping Siri from randomly activating. For broader context, here’s how Apple Intelligence approaches privacy.
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