Google has agreed to pay out a whopping $68 million to settle a lawsuit accusing its voice assistant of invading the privacy of thousands of smartphone users. The class-action suit claimed that Google's Assistant was secretly recording and sharing private conversations in order to send targeted advertising, despite being triggered by innocent phrases.
The issue at hand centered around "false accepts" – instances where the AI thought it detected "hot words" like "Hey Google" or "OK Google", when in reality users had simply uttered a normal sentence. This resulted in unwanted ads appearing on the user's phone, leaving many feeling frustrated and deceived.
Google itself has denied any wrongdoing, but chose to settle rather than risk the financial burden of litigation. The settlement applies to anyone who purchased a Google device or was affected by false accepts since May 18th, 2016. Lawyers representing the plaintiffs are eyeing a share of up to $22.7 million from the settlement fund.
This is not an isolated incident – last year, Apple reached a similar deal with smartphone users for $95 million. The growing number of high-profile settlements highlights the ongoing struggle between tech giants and consumers over issues of privacy and data protection in the digital age.
The issue at hand centered around "false accepts" – instances where the AI thought it detected "hot words" like "Hey Google" or "OK Google", when in reality users had simply uttered a normal sentence. This resulted in unwanted ads appearing on the user's phone, leaving many feeling frustrated and deceived.
Google itself has denied any wrongdoing, but chose to settle rather than risk the financial burden of litigation. The settlement applies to anyone who purchased a Google device or was affected by false accepts since May 18th, 2016. Lawyers representing the plaintiffs are eyeing a share of up to $22.7 million from the settlement fund.
This is not an isolated incident – last year, Apple reached a similar deal with smartphone users for $95 million. The growing number of high-profile settlements highlights the ongoing struggle between tech giants and consumers over issues of privacy and data protection in the digital age.
...I mean, can you imagine getting ads on your phone for something you didn't even say? 
it's already annoying enough when you're trying to watch a video or browse the web, but if Google is just gonna start blasting ads at you for nothing...no thanks! 
. and now everyone's all like "be careful what you say" 
because of these false accepts...it's a good reminder for us to be more mindful about our digital lives 
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is it just me who thinks this is all kinda sketchy? 
its like they know way more than we give them credit for. i mean google said they never did anything wrong, but come on, its still a bit sketchy that AI's can pick up on 'hot words' and start sharing personal info without consent 
. the thing is, consumers are always gonna be one step ahead of tech giants when it comes to holding them accountable for their actions 
. we need more transparency and stricter data protection laws to prevent this kind of thing from happening in the future 
It's like, yeah Google, we get it, you want to sell us stuff, but can't you just let us have a sec of peace without interrupting our convo? 
. Maybe they should start putting some of that cash towards actually improving our digital security rather than just paying us off? 
. And the fact that they chose to settle rather than fight it in court is just, like, a total cop-out 
. I mean what's next? Are they gonna start selling our personal data on the black market or something?!?
. This settlement is just a slap on the wrist... it's like Google said "oh noes we might lose a lot of money" 
. Gah I need to take a deep breath 
i mean, can you blame people for wanting their private conversations to be kept on the down low? 
google's "false accepts" is some sketchy stuff 
how many ppl actually use that thing without thinking about it? 
they're like, "oh we didn't know it was happening" but I'm calling bs... all this settling is just a way to sweep stuff under the rug and avoid real accountability 
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. We've got to stay vigilant, you know? 
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It's not like they didn't know what was going on with their "hot words" feature... all those innocent phrases getting flagged and turned into targeted ads. No wonder people are so paranoid about AI these days! 
The thing is, it's not just the money that matters – it's about accountability and setting standards for these companies to protect our personal info. Fingers crossed they take this as a wake-up call and start being more transparent about their data collection practices 
I mean, can you even imagine having your private conversations overheard without knowing who's listening? it's like, what's next, right? but at the same time, i guess it's good that google is taking responsibility and agreeing to pay out a bunch of money. like, $68 million is a lot of cash 
. who knows, maybe this will lead to even more changes in the future?
. I mean, who doesn't love the idea of their phone listening in on their private conversations? 
It's like something out of a sci-fi movie! But seriously, it's crazy that companies are getting away with this stuff and still managing to rake in billions 
. This whole ordeal makes me wonder, are we just too trusting of these AI assistants? 
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And now Apple has set an example with their own settlement... this is going to be interesting to see how other tech giants respond.