A federal class-action lawsuit was filed against Otter.ai in the Northern District of California on the 16th (local time).
Justin Brewer, a resident of San Jacinto, California, claims that Otter.ai illegally recorded his private virtual meetings without his knowledge, asserting a violation of his privacy.
Brewer argues that Otter.ai’s AI transcription service, ‘Otter Notebook’, secretly records conversations on various platforms such as Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams without the explicit consent of participants. Although he did not even have an Otter.ai account, he later found out that his meetings were recorded and transcribed without his knowledge, prompting him to take legal action.
The plaintiff argues that Otter.ai’s recording methods violate both California state and federal privacy and wiretapping laws. They particularly highlight that if the Otter software is integrated with a user’s work calendar, it automatically joins and records virtual meetings without notifying participants.
Otter.ai claims in its privacy policy that it obtains explicit consent for using meeting recordings for AI training purposes. However, according to the complaint, this consent is limited to the meeting hosts, and many actual speakers were unaware that their voices were being recorded and shared.
The recorded content is used to enhance AI speech recognition and machine learning systems, and the plaintiff claims that the company is pursuing commercial benefits through this process. Concerns are also raised about Otter’s ‘de-identification’ process being opaque and not effectively removing sensitive information or anonymizing speakers.
This lawsuit was filed on behalf of other California residents who have suffered similar damages, in addition to Brewer. Since its establishment in 2016, Otter.ai is known to have processed over one billion meetings worldwide, with more than 25 million users.
Related real-life cases amplify the issue. After a Zoom meeting with investors, an AI researcher found that Otter.ai sent a transcript of personal post-meeting conversations by email. The transcript contained sensitive discussions among investors, nearly derailing a planned business negotiation.
Users sharing similar experiences are increasing on social networking services (SNS) and communities like Reddit. There is particular concern about sensitive conversations with human rights activists or dissidents being transcribed without consent through Otter. A journalist from Politico expressed concern that an interview with a Uyghur human rights activist may have been recorded by Otter.
Otter states that it does not share user data with foreign governments or law enforcement agencies. However, controversies continue over the current system’s capability to automatically participate in and record meetings without prior consent.
The lawsuit could serve as a reminder of the importance of privacy protection and user consent in the era of expanding AI-based transcription technologies. Depending on the outcome, new standards for the use of AI technologies may emerge.