Industry is still trying to figure out the balance between providing services and protecting privacy.
The Associated PressJan 12,2019 13:44 PM IST
Many of the hottest new gadgets are also the noisiest ones.
This week’s CES tech show in Las Vegas was a showcase for cameras that live stream the living room, bathroom mirrors that offer beauty tips and gizmos that track the heartbeats of unborn children. All will collect some kind of data about their users, whether photos or monitor readings; how well they’ll protect it and what exactly they plan do with it are the important and often unanswered questions.
These features can be useful — or at least fun — but they all open the door for companies and their workers to peek into your private life. Just this week, The Intercept reported that Ring, a security-camera company owned by Amazon, gave a variety of employees and executives access to recorded and sometimes live video footage from customers’ homes.
People make their way through the lobby of the Las Vegas Convention Center during the 2019 CES. Image: Reuters
Our data-driven age now forces you to weigh the usefulness of a smart mirror against the risk that strangers might be watching you in your bathroom. Even if a company has your privacy in mind, things can go wrong: Hackers can break in and access sensitive data, or your ex might hold onto a video feed long after you’ve broken up.
“It’s not like all these technologies are inherently bad,” says Franziska Roesner, a University of Washington computer security and privacy researcher.
But she said the industry is still trying to figure out the right balance between providing useful services and protecting people’s privacy in the process.
Amazon’s Video Feeds
Like other security devices, Ring cameras can be mounted outside the front door or inside the home; a phone app lets you see who’s there. But the Intercept said the Amazon-owned company was also allowing some high-level engineers in the US to view customers’ video feeds, while others in the Ukraine office could view and download any customer video file.
