Otter.ai, a Mountain View tech company, utilizes AI for speech-to-text transcription, primarily in virtual meetings. Recently, it faced a federal class-action lawsuit alleging it secretly records conversations without user consent to enhance its transcription services, such as Otter Notebook, used in platforms like Zoom and Google Meet. Filed by California resident Justin Brewer, the suit claims Otter’s actions violate privacy and wiretap laws, asserting that meeting participants are often unaware their conversations are recorded and shared with the company for financial gain. The lawsuit highlights concerns over privacy, particularly in confidential discussions that led to significant business repercussions. With 25 million users and over 1 billion recorded meetings since 2016, Otter has faced increasing scrutiny regarding user data handling. The company claims it anonymizes data before processing, but the lawsuit questions the effectiveness of this de-identification process, underscoring potential risks in user privacy and data protection.
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