Apple Seeks Dismissal of Siri AI Lawsuit
Apple is seeking the dismissal of a fraud lawsuit concerning the capabilities of its Siri AI. The company has also filed to dismiss an injunction related to its legal battle with Epic Games. The moves signal a proactive legal strategy in managing risks associated with AI performance and app store policies.
The shareholder lawsuit, led by South Korea's National Pension Service, the world's third-largest pension fund, alleges Apple defrauded investors by overstating the readiness of key "Apple Intelligence" features for Siri. The complaint centers on capabilities showcased at the June 2024 Worldwide Developers Conference, specifically Siri's promised "personal context" and "onscreen awareness" functionalities. Shareholders claim these features were presented as imminent for the iPhone 16 to drive sales, despite Apple allegedly lacking a working prototype at the time. The lawsuit points to a subsequent stock decline, with one report citing a loss of approximately $900 billion in market value from a peak on December 26, 2024, as evidence of the financial impact of the delayed rollout. In its defense, Apple argues there is no proof that its executives knew the advanced AI features would be significantly delayed when they were announced. CEO Tim Cook later acknowledged in 2025 that developing a "more personal" Siri was "taking a bit longer than we thought." The Epic Games injunction issue stems from a September 2021 ruling by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers that found Apple's "anti-steering" rules, which prevented developers from linking to outside payment options, violated California's Unfair Competition Law. On April 30, 2025, Judge Gonzalez Rogers found Apple in "willful violation" of her original injunction. This ruling came after Apple implemented a new policy that allowed external links but charged a 27% commission on purchases made through them, a move the court deemed non-compliant. Apple's legal team contends the company never guaranteed its compliance procedures would be "foolproof." Following the contempt finding, the court referred Apple's conduct to the U.S. Attorney for a potential criminal contempt investigation.
