Mexico. During the 2019 edition of the Consumer Electronic Show held a few days ago in Las Vegas, numerous connected devices were shown such as video screens (Samsung Serif), water taps (Sensate Touchless Kitchen Faucet de Kohler) and even a garbage can (simplehuman trashcan) that receives voice commands. It is even likely that during the end of the year many Mexican households received some household appliances that integrate voice recognition services.
But this is just the beginning. In the coming years, the number and diversity of home appliances that integrate capabilities to record and transmit audio and video for purposes such as detecting tired drivers or controlling the operation of all types of household appliances, controlling air conditioning or even ordering the oven to heat food before arriving home will increase.
Unfortunately these gadgets are the dream of any spy since they have the ability to record image and voice continuously and transmit this information via the Internet to companies and organizations that store and process the collected data. This has profound ethical and legal implications regarding the ownership of the data collected, as well as protection against its use by third parties, including governments.
These consequences are not mere theoretical exercises. In 2017, a stuffed toy company capable of recording sound exposed a hacker to recordings and personal information of hundreds of thousands of parents and children who use the toy. Last year the owner of a smart speaker discovered that conversations with her partner had been recorded and the audio sent to a contact without the authorization of the owner and as if that were not enough last November, a US judge ordered a manufacturer of smart speakers to deliver audios related to a double homicide that the horn recorded during the crime.
How to protect this new front of extraction and processing of personal information? Unlike computers and mobile devices such as cell phones and tablets, sometimes the manufacturers of these devices are small companies that do not make public their data acquisition and retention policies, in addition to the lack of a screen it is difficult to adjust the operating parameters of many of these devices. However, with sufficient attention, it is possible to safely and healthily integrate these devices into our daily lives.
Before purchase
- Check if the manufacturer is honest with its data retention policies: The company that sells the device must explain clearly, explicitly and preferably in Spanish, the type of data that the gadget collects, how it processes it and if it shares it with third parties. Here is an example of a company that explains in detail this process of data collection and analysis.
- Check that the company informs about the configuration of security parameters: Unfortunately the legislations (including the Mexican one) still do not regulate the services of collection and processing data such as image and video from home devices, but there are companies that explain to the client in detail the procedures to regulate their privacy options.
After purchase
- Limits the amount of data collected: Depending on the manufacturer, at the time of starting the operation of the home device it is possible to configure through privacy options such as prohibiting the device's access to sensitive information such as the owner's telephone directory, as well as the amount and type of personal information sent to the manufacturer.
- Enable usage commands: Almost all home devices that record image and sound have some option that allows you to start recording and sending data to the manufacturer by means of a command such as OK Google or Hey Alexa. It is advisable to enable this option in order to restrict the amount of data that devices collect and send to their headquarters.
- Review the information that the company has about you: Some companies allow the user to review and even delete the history of data collected by the devices in the house. It is advisable to periodically review this history to know what the device knows about you and in given case, delete the information that one considers pertinent.
Text written by the Institute of Telecommunications Law, IDET.
