In style AI transcription device Otter has been hit by a federal lawsuit which alleges it “recorded, accessed, learn, realized, and utilized” the contents of individuals’s conversations with out getting the mandatory consent first. It additionally claims Otter used these conversations to coach its machine studying know-how.
The grievance, filed in US District Court docket for the Northern District of California, focuses on certainly one of Otter’s merchandise, Otter Notetaker, which produces real-time transcriptions of Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Groups conferences.
The go well with says that Otter recorded not solely account holders who use Otter Notetaker however assembly members who don’t subscribe to Otter’s providers. It argues that as Otter did not disclose when it was lively and recording conferences, when the opposite members had not given consent, it’s in violation of each federal and California privateness legal guidelines. These embody the Digital Communications Privateness Act of 1986 and the California Invasion of Privateness Act. It’s in search of class-action standing.
The plaintiff, Justin Brewer, participated in a Zoom assembly in February 2025, the place Otter Notetaker was used to transcribe a gathering he attended. As he didn’t know he was being recorded or give his consent to the transcription, the grievance says this allowed Otter to “wiretap his communications.”
Although Otter’s privateness coverage clearly states that it “de-identified” its audio recordings, that means the recordings had been altered to take away the figuring out knowledge, it pointed to analysis on the ineffectiveness of those methods. The grievance additionally highlights that certainly one of Otter’s rivals, Learn.ai, permits any participant, together with those that don’t use Learn.ai, to cease recording throughout a gathering.
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This is not the primary time privateness points have been raised about Otter’s providers. In 2024, the College of Massachusetts banned Otter.ai, as its IT division stated it violated the state’s all‑celebration consent legislation. NPR, which lined the lawsuit, famous {that a} Politico journalist who interviewed a Uighur human rights activist raised issues in 2024 that the Chinese language authorities might try to entry the transcriptions of his conversations with political dissidents.
PCMag has reached out to Otter for remark.
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About Will McCurdy
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I’m a reporter overlaying weekend information. Earlier than becoming a member of PCMag in 2024, I picked up bylines in BBC Information, The Guardian, The Occasions of London, The Every day Beast, Vice, Slate, Quick Firm, The Night Customary, The i, TechRadar, and Decrypt Media.
I’ve been a PC gamer because you needed to set up video games from a number of CD-ROMs by hand. As a reporter, I’m passionate in regards to the intersection of tech and human lives. I’ve lined every little thing from crypto scandals to the artwork world, in addition to conspiracy theories, UK politics, and Russia and overseas affairs.
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