Data privacy, freedom of speech & a flamboyant owner…
You cannot just ignore this news. Elon Musk bought Twitter for US$ 44 Bn. With it, he promised to embrace ‘Free Speech’ on the platform. He wanted his worst critics to remain on Twitter:
He even clarified what free speech meant.
This post from Wired, speaks about the changes that might occur at Twitter:
“The extreme centralization and privatization of online spaces disproportionately harms those who don't have access to traditional media,” Fight for the Future's Greer says. “For human rights activists, small business owners, independent musicians, and folks from marginalized communities. having a platform ripped out from under you, or even just having an algorithm changed without warning, can have a profound impact on your ability to be heard, make a living, or even survive.”
When a conflict of interest situation arises between Twitter and the governments of nations, we will have to rely solely on the words of Elon Musk, who says he will promote free speech over other things (which definitely include business interests as well).
Jeff Bezos Wass quick to point that out…
Amazon Echo smart speaker used to send targeted ads
For someone quick to throw stones at Elon Musk, the famous founder of Amazon forgot that he stays in a glass house.
According to this article by The Register, Amazon uses voice data to send targeted ads:
Academics at the University of Washington, University of California-Davis, University of California-Irvine, and Northeastern University claim "Amazon processes voice data to infer user interests and uses it to serve targeted ads on-platform (Echo devices) as well as off-platform (web)."
We read the paper that this article is based on and found the following interesting points:
Amazon shares smart-speaker interaction data with 41 advertising partners
You get targeted ads not just on your speakers, but also on the web
Amazon has a patent for advertising products to you based on inferences from physical and emotional characteristics of you voices, e.g., targeting cough-drop ads at users with colds!!
The data collection, usage and sharing practices of Amazon are in violation to the written privacy policies of Amazon
Amazon allows third party applications called ‘skills’ in the Alexa marketplace. This poses a significant risk to users of Amazon Echo. While ‘skills’ have to be certified to filter malicious ones, many get through
Amazon has a ‘wake word’ - Alexa, that is a cue for Amazon to start recording. However, there are known instances where the smart speakers activate without the wake word
Interestingly, the possible mitigations mentioned in the paper appear weak. Largely, they ask for more transparency and the ability to monitor traffic. There is not much that a non technical user of smart speakers can do about it, except, maybe, stop using them.