In the Arkansas case, the cops didn’t trigger Echo to listen. But they want to know what it might have picked up.
They showed up after a resident, James A. Bates, called 911 and said that he’d awakened after a night of drinking and found the body of his friend Victor Collins floating in the backyard hot tub. Police ultimately launched a homicide investigation and suspected some clues might have been inadvertently gathered by the “Internet of things” — gadgets such as a Nest smart thermostat, a smart water meter, a Honeywell alarm system and Bates’ Amazon Echo.
The Information reported this week that police pressed Amazon for help. They served a warrant to the online seller.
https://twitter.com/geofferson/status/814932305810780164
“The Amazon Echo device is constantly listening for the ‘wake’ command of ‘Alexa’ or ‘Amazon,’ and records any command, inquiry, or verbal gesture given after that point, or possibly at all times without the ‘wake word’ being issued, which is uploaded to Amazon.com’s servers at a remote location,” an affidavit with the warrant reads. “It is believed that these records are retained by Amazon.com and that they are evidence related to the case under investigation.”
So far, Amazon has refused to comply with the warrant.
Only an idiot would bring an Echo or similar device into his home. But in truth, there’s a chance that ANY device that contains a microphone and that can connect to the Internet is always spying on you, even if the device doesn’t APPEAR to be connected.
For most of us, these devices are “black boxes.” We simply don’t know what’s going on inside them. While it’s possible to detect the emission of wireless signals from a device that’s not supposed to be emitting them, that’s more trouble than most are willing to go through.
The solution? Never hold private conversations within earshot of a cell phone, tablet, or any other device with wireless capability. And don’t buy such devices unless you really need them. Who the hell needs a “smart TV” or a refrigerator that connects to the Internet?