Should Employees be Banned from Using Siri?

Guest post by Jennifer K. Halford, Esq.

Siri, take this dictation : "IBM allows its employees to use personal iPhones. But IBM does not allow its employees to use you. Find out why that is."

IBM recently banned its employees from using Siri while at work due to privacy concerns from Apple's collection and storage of personal information from the user.

Using Siri or Dictation results in the collection of recorded information in a text format. Users agree that Apple can collect that and other user information when they agree to Apple's license agreement. And all of that information is stored by Apple in Maiden, North Carolina.

Siri, add to my to do list : "Find out what Apple is doing with my personal information."

It is not clear from Apple's license agreement who actually gets access to your information and what are they doing with it. This has not only IBM, but the American Civil Liberties Union worried about what data is being collected and who has access to it.

Siri - remind me to tell my employees not to use you.

You may not be IBM. But Siri may be affecting your business more than you think.

Your employees' address book information, emails, text messages, and Siri-launched searches are being stored by Apple. You have duty to take precautions to keep your trade secrets secure . But Apple could have access to your confidential information and customer information.

And your employee could be violating a legal contract. "Just having it known that you're at a certain customer's location might be in violation of a non-disclosure agreement," Edward Wrenbeck, the lead developer of the original Siri iPhone app acquired by Apple, told Wired Enterprise.

Jennifer K. Halford is an attorney whose practice focuses on business law and estate planning. She is also a professor at California State University, Chico, where she teaches Entrepreneurial Law .

Related Resources:

• IBM Bans Employees From Using Siri At Work (Semanticweb)
• Apple Defends Siri's Performance in Motion to Dismiss (Findlaw's Technologist)