Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on October 6, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleFrench prosecutors are investigating Apple's Siri over data privacy claims, following a complaint about illicit data collection. Apple has responded by highlighting its privacy controls.
PARIS (Reuters) -French prosecutors said on Monday they are investigating tech giant Apple's voice assistant Siri after receiving a complaint from a tech researcher accusing the company of illicit data collection.
The probe, which was first reported by the news website Politico, has been entrusted to a police force specialised in cybercrime, the prosecutors' office in Paris said without providing further details.
Tech researcher Thomas Le Bonniec told Reuters that he was the source of the complaint, which was filed by French human rights organisation, the Ligue des Droits de l'Homme (LDH).
LDH had previously said the complaint accused Apple of collecting, recording and analysing Siri conversations without users' consent. It did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.
"The opening of a criminal investigation ... sends a clear message: fundamental rights matter, and there are organisations and people determined to uphold them," Le Bonniec said.
Apple told Reuters on Monday that it had tightened Siri privacy controls in 2019 and again this year. It pointed to a January post on its website in which it said conversations with Siri were never shared with marketers or sold to advertisers.
(Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter and Alessandro Parodi; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Joe Bavier)
Data collection refers to the process of gathering and measuring information on variables of interest in a systematic way, which enables researchers to answer relevant questions and evaluate outcomes.
A voice assistant is a software application that uses voice recognition, natural language processing, and speech synthesis to provide services or information to users through voice commands.
User consent is the agreement given by individuals to allow their personal data to be collected, processed, or used by organizations, often after being informed about how their data will be utilized.
Privacy control refers to the measures and policies implemented by organizations to protect users' personal information and ensure that data is collected and used in compliance with privacy laws.
A criminal investigation is a systematic examination of evidence and facts to determine whether a crime has been committed and to identify the responsible parties.
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