The investigation, which was first reported by Politico, has been assigned to a cybercrime unit within the French police, according to a statement from the Paris prosecutor’s office. While authorities have not disclosed specific details, the move signals growing European scrutiny of how major technology companies handle personal information.
The complaint was filed by Thomas Le Bonniec, a former Apple contractor and technology researcher, along with the Ligue des Droits de l’Homme (LDH)—a leading French human rights organisation. The LDH alleged that Apple’s Siri system had collected, recorded, and analysed voice conversations without obtaining proper user consent.
Le Bonniec, who previously worked on Siri audio review programs, told Reuters that the opening of the probe underscores the importance of protecting digital privacy.
“The opening of a criminal investigation sends a clear message: fundamental rights matter, and there are organisations and people determined to uphold them,” he said.
Apple, in response, defended its privacy record. The company told Reuters that it had strengthened Siri’s privacy controls in 2019 and again earlier this year. In a January statement on its website, Apple said Siri conversations are never sold to advertisers or shared with marketers, and that users have full control over whether their voice recordings are stored or reviewed.
This is not the first time Apple has faced criticism over Siri’s data practices. In 2019, reports surfaced that contractors were listening to small samples of Siri recordings to improve accuracy—a practice that drew backlash and led Apple to suspend and later redesign its review system.
The French probe could add to a broader European effort to enforce strict data protection rules under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as regulators and rights groups intensify scrutiny of how Big Tech companies manage voice and biometric data.