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US Judge Approves $177 Million Settlement in AT&T 2024 Data Breach Lawsuits

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A U.S. judge granted preliminary approval on Friday to a $177 million settlement resolving class-action lawsuits against telecom giant AT&T (T.N) over data breaches in 2024 that exposed personal information of tens of millions of customers. U.S. District Judge Ada Brown in Dallas ruled that the settlement was fair and reasonable.

The settlement addresses claims stemming from breaches announced by AT&T in May and July of last year. Depending on the breach, customers who suffered losses “fairly traceable” to the incidents can receive payments of up to $2,500 or $5,000. After direct loss claims are paid, remaining funds will be distributed to customers whose personal data was accessed.

AT&T denied responsibility for the criminal acts but agreed to the settlement to avoid prolonged and costly litigation. The company expects final approval by the end of 2025 and plans to begin issuing payments early next year.

One breach involved the illegal download of about 109 million customer accounts from AT&T’s Snowflake cloud platform, exposing six months of call and text logs from 2022 for nearly all its customers. In March 2024, AT&T revealed a related data set released on the dark web, affecting approximately 7.6 million current and 65.4 million former account holders, with data dating back to 2019 or earlier.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is also investigating the incidents. Last September, AT&T agreed to pay $13 million to settle an FCC probe into a 2023 data breach involving a cloud vendor that affected 8.9 million wireless customers. The FCC said the exposed data covered customers from 2015 to 2017 and should have been deleted by 2017 or 2018.

Apple to Pay $95 Million to Settle Siri Privacy Lawsuit

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Apple Inc. has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging its Siri voice assistant violated users’ privacy by unintentionally recording private conversations and sharing them with third parties, such as advertisers.

The preliminary settlement was filed on Tuesday in the federal court in Oakland, California, and awaits approval from U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White. Plaintiffs in the case claimed that Siri routinely recorded conversations without users’ consent when triggered unintentionally by “hot words” like “Hey, Siri.”

Allegations and Examples

Users reported that these unauthorized recordings led to targeted ads. For instance, two plaintiffs said discussions about Air Jordan sneakers and Olive Garden resulted in related advertisements. Another claimed to have received ads for a surgical treatment after discussing it privately with a doctor.

The class-action period covers Siri-enabled devices purchased between September 17, 2014, and December 31, 2024, beginning with the rollout of the “Hey, Siri” feature.

Settlement Details

Tens of millions of users are eligible for compensation, with potential payouts of up to $20 per device, including iPhones and Apple Watches. Apple has denied any wrongdoing but agreed to the settlement to resolve the claims.

The plaintiffs’ lawyers may request up to $28.5 million in legal fees and $1.1 million for expenses from the settlement fund.

Apple has not yet commented on the settlement.

Context and Broader Implications

The $95 million settlement represents about nine hours of profit for Apple, which reported a net income of $93.74 billion in its most recent fiscal year.

This lawsuit follows a trend of scrutiny over voice-activated assistants and user privacy. A similar case is pending against Google for its Voice Assistant, filed in the same judicial district as the Apple case. Both lawsuits are being handled by the same legal teams.

The case against Apple is Lopez et al. v. Apple Inc., U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 19-04577.

 

Delta Passengers Sue Airline Over Refund Denials Amid Tech Meltdown

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Delta Air Lines faces a class-action lawsuit from passengers affected by a global tech outage in July that led to widespread flight cancellations. The suit alleges that Delta refused or imposed conditions on refunds, leaving travelers stranded and incurring additional expenses.

The legal action comes as Delta, CrowdStrike, and Microsoft engage in a dispute over responsibility for the tech failure on July 19, which disrupted Delta and other companies globally. The lawsuit describes the fallout as “disastrous,” with Delta’s inability to recover quickly stranding passengers worldwide and causing significant distress.

According to the complaint, Delta denied automatic refunds for canceled flights and, in some cases, required passengers to sign waivers to receive partial reimbursement. The lawsuit also claims Delta did not provide meal, hotel, or transportation vouchers, forcing passengers to cover unexpected costs.

Delta’s recovery was slower compared to its competitors, with over 1,250 flights canceled on July 22 alone, following more than 4,500 cancellations between July 19 and July 21. The lawsuit seeks compensation for all affected passengers.

One plaintiff faced multiple cancellations and had to book alternative flights at their own expense. Despite Delta’s assurance of an automatic refund, the plaintiff received a $100 voucher instead of reimbursement for nearly $2,000 in out-of-pocket costs. Other passengers reported missing significant events and having to use alternative transportation due to the cancellations.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has expressed concern over the situation and promised continued investigation. Delta’s CEO, Ed Bastian, has blamed CrowdStrike for the incident, claiming the tech firm’s failures cost Delta $500 million and alleging they did not provide adequate support.

CrowdStrike and Microsoft have refuted Delta’s claims, suggesting Delta ignored offers for help and failed to maintain updated IT systems, exacerbating the outage. Microsoft noted that Delta’s crew-tracking system was managed by other providers, not Microsoft, raising questions about Delta’s IT infrastructure decisions.

The case highlights ongoing tensions over tech failures and responsibilities, with Delta, CrowdStrike, and Microsoft each defending their actions amid the fallout.