France launches criminal probe against Apple

French authorities have opened a criminal investigation into U.S. tech giant Apple over allegations that the company used contractors to listen to voice recordings of users’ interactions with Siri, despite promising to protect privacy, Bloomberg reported.

The investigation was triggered by a complaint from the human rights group Ligue des droits de l’Homme.

The complaint is based on testimony by Thomas le Bonniec, a former Apple subcontractor in Ireland, who revealed that confidential voice data—including from cancer patients—had been analyzed.

In 2019, The Guardian reported that Apple contractors were listening to Siri recordings to evaluate and improve the assistant’s performance.

Following public backlash, Apple suspended the program, later allowing users to opt out and requiring explicit consent before collecting any data. Despite that, a class-action lawsuit was filed, and Apple agreed to pay compensation to affected users.

Apple has since stated that it does not store Siri recordings without explicit user consent and never uses Siri data for marketing or advertising purposes.