August 9, 2021 – What everyone once deemed to be private information, may not be as private as once believed. Data is ubiquitous – it is everywhere, but at the same time, people want their data to remain private. In the law, there is an expectation of privacy when a communication is “confidential,” but when a third party is positioned in such a way as to overhear – eavesdrop, the speaker can no longer have an expectation of privacy. In the law, that means that everything that was said and overheard can be admitted into testimony in a court of law.
For businesses and government, proprietary information and national, this can be a disaster. For individuals, it can be a loss or private information, which can lead to identity theft and worse.
One major point of concern is concierge devices in homes and autos. They they are always on, listening for human commands, whether its to change the radio station or to navigate to a location – it listens and records everything that is said to it as well as to those within it listening radius. Whether it’s an Alexa, Siri concierge device, or hack a vehicle’s navigational assistant – what was once private, isn’t private anymore. One of the major concerns of these devices is how can one continue to have an expectation of privacy in one’s home or car?
Who’s Really Listening?
In an interview with scholars at the Berkman Klein Institute for the Internet & Society, we talked about the Internet of Things (IoT), and privacy. That is, how private are our conversations when our smart TV, our programmable refrigerator, thermostat, or especially our Alexa or Siri are always on and listening. Some of these issues have become the subject of law enforcement, who in response to a crime then scour the data that may be collected on any of these “listening” devices.
In fact, there has been a growing number of instances where the police look to obtain. In fact, as far back as 2019, Florida police were looking to solve a murder trying to get data files from an Alexa machine in a home where a murder took place. And what about people always listening? To that end, in a report by Bloomberg News, it was documented that Amazon’s “Alexa” was being used to “collect” voice recordings that Amazon employees would transcribe under the “guise” of improving their voice recognition software. Pretty scary if someone is talking about personal information with the expectation of privacy. And what about “hackers” opening up the channels of communication and listening. A disgruntled ex-boyfriend or husband with technological savvy – can acquire information to stalk and harass – who knows what information is being compromised.
Can the Genie Ever be Put Back Into the Bottle?
Even if these devices are shut off, how do we really know that for sure….The legal question then becomes, once that expectation of privacy is unwittingly lost, and private information has been compromised, can that expectation of privacy ever be reclaimed or is it lost forever? These re important questions to ponder, especially now when “censorship” on many social media platforms has never been higher.
States are Stepping Up the Privacy Concerns
California has its own Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
California consumers can sue businesses under the CCPA if certain conditions are met. The type of personal information that must have been stolen is your first name (or first initial) and last name in combination with any of the following:
- Your social security number
- Your driver’s license number, tax identification number, passport number, military identification number, or other unique identification number issued on a government document commonly used to identify a person’s identity
- Your financial account number, credit card number, or debit card number if combined with any required security code, access code, or password that would allow someone access to your account
- Your medical or health insurance information
- Your fingerprint, retina or iris image, or other unique biometric data used to identify a person’s identity (but not including photographs unless used or stored for facial recognition purposes).
Artificial intelligence (AI) is Changing the Way Americans Live, Conduct Business & Catch Criminals
AI is changing the way that people conduct their daily lives, as well as giving those in law enforcement more tools in their investigative toolbox. So what are your states’ rules on privacy and data collection? And what about Federal Rules on communication privacy? The EU also has its own directives. To learn more, watch our Series on Technology and the Internet:
Going Dark or Getting Personal with international cyber-technologist, Bruce Schneier of the Kennedy School of Government and the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University; the program on the Internet of Things (IoT) and the Third Amendment to the US Constitution – what it says about Government Intrusion into our Homes that has Modern-Day significance; and the International Privacy Rights When it Comes to GeoPolitics, foreign servers, and privacy.
View all these Programs and More here at The Legal Edition
© Copyright 2021, Mary Kay Elloian, Esq. All Rights Reserved.
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