Alexa. how much will I get for your violating my privacy.

There are more than 100 million Alexa or Alexa-like devices out there. Then there are all those indoor Ring cameras.

Nary a one is in my home.

Sure, there may come a day when I need to use something like an Alexa as an assistive device. ("Help! I've fallen and I can't get up.") So never say never. But for now, when I need to settle a bet by immediately learning who won the World Series in 1949. (Hiss, boo: The Yankees.) Or when there's that wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night moment when you're wondering  whether or not George Washington had a middle name. (He didn't.) I can just do it the old fashioned way and go to the Google. 

(Remember the real old fashioned way to settle a bet, even if the bet was just with yourself? You consulted the big, thick annual World Almanac "Book of Facts," or you thumbed through your family's multi-volume encyclopedia. In both cases, you probably got sidetracked by a whole lot more useless information.)

As for security cameras in the home? I don't have kids. I don't have dogs. I don't have anything worth surveiling. 

Not to mention that I've always been a bit suspicious about having some bit of techno-wizardry recording my every word, monitoring my every move. I'm not even wild about having a TV that responds to my voice requests. Just how smart is that TV, anyway?

Of course, not everyone shares my suspicious nature. Or any suspicions that folks might have had were overcome by the desire not to have to go to the Google and/or the wish to monitor kiddos and/or doggos. 

Looks like any suspicions were somewhat well-founded, and the FTC is looking to grab over $30M in fines for Alexa and Ring violations of privacy.

In one lawsuit, the Federal Trade Commission claims the tech company violated privacy laws by keeping recordings of children's conversations with its voice assistant Alexa, and in another that its employees have monitored customers' Ring camera recordings without their consent.

The FTC alleges Amazon held onto children's voice and geolocation data indefinitely, illegally used it to improve its algorithm and kept transcripts of their interactions with Alexa despite parents' requests to delete them. (Source: NPR)

Amazon not only has to pay the fine ($25M); they can't use the data they captured. So their algos will be starved, not fed. As is only right and just.

Amazon, not surprisingly, is pushing back, claiming they did nothing wrong. 

Hmmmmm.

In the second lawsuit, the FTC is looking for less money - but the implications of the violations Amazon is being charged with strike me as worse. In this suit:

...the FTC seeks a $5.8 million fine for Amazon over claims employees and contractors at Ring — a home surveillance company Amazon bought in 2018 — had full access to customers' videos.

In at least one case that was reported, an employee spied on women's security footage from bedrooms and bathrooms. (Security cams in the bathroom? Why would you want that, unless you were concerned that one day, the cops were going to need to have a recording of you being Psycho'd in your shower?) 

Amazon is also accused of not taking its security protections seriously, as hackers were able to break into two-way video streams to sexually proposition people, call children racial slurs and physically threaten families for ransom.

Ring knew about security issues, but didn't bother to deploy the necessary patches. Note that the Ring violations for the most part occurred before Amazon acquired Ring. Still: NOT GOOD. 

The FTC's claims need to be approved by federal judges and, as noted Amazon is pushing back.

Still, I'm just as happy that I don't have to worry about Alexa and Ring spying on me.