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Thursday, December 29, 2016

Police Want To Find Out If Amazon Echo Recorded Evidence Of Homicide

The issue of who can access information stored on your electronic devices has become increasingly controversial in the last year, with authorities obtaining search warrants to unlock smartphones for everyone in an office building, courts ruling that police can force smartphone users to give up their devices’ passcodes, and federal lawmakers trying to force weakened encryption on consumers. Now, police investigating a homicide are hoping to get a look under the hood of Amazon’s Echo speaker to see if its virtual “Alexa” assistant might have recorded evidence of a murder. 

5 comments:

Rebel Without a Clue said...

It's my understanding, from a friend who owns one of these devices, that the machine doesn't record anything until the "trigger word" is said. That being that, I don't see how the machine would've recorded the conversation because in order to do that the database systems would be the largest in the world.

What's next, the police remotely turning on the microphone on your Echo to snoop in on your conversations?

Just my two cents, I could be wrong.

lmclain said...

You cheered when they gave you roadblocks with armed men to check to see IF you MAYBE, possibly, in some form, were committing a crime. You nodded in agreement when they told you that yes, they were recording and storing EVERY electronic communication done in the USA, by every citizen regardless of any innocence or guilt.
When they said yes, we can (and do) turn on any phone or TV set to watch and listen to everything you say or do in the privacy (lol!) of your home anytime we like, you clapped and cheered.
When they said we use secret devices to trick your cell phone into sending all your calls to a police officer instead of Verizon, you just yawned.
When they said we will be taking your picture hundreds of times and store those photos forever (just because), you didn't think twice about it.
When they placed tracking devices in your car and phone and said it was for our "safety", you didn't care as long as Facebook was available.
When they told you that you neeeded their PERMISSION to exercise the Bill of Rights, you were just glad they were thinking about your safety again and happily said "great! no problem!".
When they said we don't need search warrants anymore, or public trials, and said secret prisons in the USA (for US citizens!!) were necessary to the republic, you cheered.
When the police said they needed DNA from everyone and started forcing innocent people to submit a sample (by force, if needed), you were glad YOU never did anything wrong.
When armed men wearing combat gear, bearing combat weapons, and using combat training, say they were AFRAID of a teenage kid with a BB gun and had to shoot him 20 times, you were glad they went home safe that night and cheered their "good shooting".
When armed men started stopping innocent citizens and ROBBING them at gunpoint of cash and property, you cheered all the unrelenting efforts to get all the bad guys carrying money. Like you never did.
When you let your "leaders" tax the damn rain, you voted them BACK INTO OFFICE!
Keep cheering.

Anonymous said...

Big brother welcomed into your home with open arms. I knew a case like this would come. I'm just surprised how quickly it came up.

Anonymous said...

I see the tin hat brigade are ever vigilant.

Anonymous said...

Google chrome turns on your microphone. You dont need the police to snoop when you tell social media your every waking moment. How lazy have we become that instead of looking things up on a computer or phone, we have to talk to a machine that looks things up?