It should also be noted that Otter, Read, and other transcription apps are active participants in calls, and show up in windows alongside human users. But the complaint points out that Read, for one, allows any participant, including non-account holders, to stop recording during a meeting, where Otter does not.
Plaintiffs: Otter wrongfully puts onus on users
The complaint claims Otter does not obtain prior consent from participants nor inform them that their conversations are being used to train the company’s automatic speech recognition (ASR) and machine learning models, “and in turn, to financially benefit Otter’s business.”
It describes Otter Notetaker as a “separate and distinct third-party entity” that only seeks consent to record from the host, not other participants. It may also join meetings without obtaining consent, and without sending out pre-meeting invitations or notifications unless the user enables a setting that the complaint says is off by default. Further, when joining a meeting, it does not provide a link to the company’s privacy policy.
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