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Alexa On The Witness Stand Is Going To Be Killer For Privacy - Above the Law
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Google Assistant adds Pretty Please functionality, updated lists, and other features - The Verge

Alexa On The Witness Stand Is Going To Be Killer For Privacy - Above the Law

Posted: 28 Nov 2018 08:18 AM PST

(via Getty Images)

Like many people of certain age, I fear inviting an Amazon Cylon into my home to record my every move simply because I’m too lazy to turn on my stereo. Unlike most people, I have sound legal reasons for distrusting Alexa that buttress my irrational fears of robots.

I do not want a voice-activated recording device in my home, because I do not know what the state might do with that information. Granted, I am not in the habit of committing crimes. But, in the privacy of my own home, I’ve surely contemplated a few. And I know enough about civil liberties — or the lack thereof — that I know that I might not be able to keep my fanciful conspiracies away from state intrusion should the state decide to target me, for whatever reason.

I don’t have a reasonable expectation of privacy in my vehicle, though I would if the Fourth Amendment were up to me. I’m damn sure not about to cede my reasonable expectation of privacy in my kitchen.

My concerns are not the stuff of near-future law fiction. There’s a case going on in New Hampshire where a judge has ordered Amazon to turn over Echo recordings to prosecutors who are trying to make a murder case.

Strafford County Superior Court Justice Steven M. Houran ordered Amazon to turn over recordings that may have captured the death of two women, and implicated Timothy Verrill, a suspect charged in their deaths.

The order was made on probable cause grounds, which has some legal analysts concerned. From Legal Tech news:

Andrew Ferguson, who teaches law at the University of the District of Columbia, explained that Internet of Things (IoT) enabled evidence “presents hard decisions for judges because analog rules do not necessarily make sense in a digital world.”

“In essence, the judge conflated probable cause, that a crime occurred with probable cause, that evidence of that crime will be on the device. This is both understandable, because judges have routinely granted such warrants for homes or cars or computers, but also probably a stretch if you think about what the probable cause standard should be,” Ferguson said.

However, he warned, just because a crime has been committed does not mean that all the smart devices associated with the suspects should be searched because of the possibility of helpful evidence. “I think the judge’s court order fails to understand exactly how Amazon Echos work, and is based on a hope for possible evidence as opposed to a reasonable certainty that incriminating evidence will be found.”

Again, this is my reasonable fear, that the state will use Internet of Things devices to go on fishing expeditions. That judges, most of whom do not really understand how these connected devices work, will okay such expeditions without any real showing of probable cause.

If I have an Echo and I get charged with stabbing a white supremacist, next thing you know some prosecutor will be checking to see if I ever asked Alexa how to carve a jive turkey.

And that (fictional) example brings me to my other main Constitutional concern. The instant ruling was made on Fourth Amendment grounds, but I also worry about the Fifth.

In this case, the Echo was owned by the deceased victim, so there are no real Fifth Amendment concerns (and diminished Fourth Amendment concerns, to be honest). But it doesn’t take much to imagine a case where your own Echo is used against you.

In such a case, the mainstream legal thought is to treat Echo just like a personal computer. The government is allowed to search your email, for instance, and use those emails against you.

I would like to see Internet of Things devices treated to something like a spousal privilege. (Just go with me for a second; remember in my fantasy world you also have vehicular privacy.) You can tell your spouse, “I want to kill that asshole,” and your spouse can not be compelled to testify against you, even if that asshole later turns up dead.

The spousal privilege extends from the concept of marital privacy, and, more problematically, the concept that a wife had no rights of her own anyway.

Let’s dispense with the barbaric latter justification and focus on the relevant and modern concept of privacy.

The communications we are having with Alexa are private. It might not be self-aware that it’s being used as a helpmate — at least let’s hope she’s not — but it is being sold to us a robot butler. It’s not like email where we are communicating with a third party. It’s not like a Word doc or a dear diary where we are self-consciously recording our thoughts. We’re talking to it, with all of the ephemeral expectations a conversation implies, within the private walls of our homes. Our right against self-incrimination should attach to it just as surely as our pillow talk cannot be used against us in court.

I doubt prosecutors will agree with me. And I doubt judges, most of whom come from a prosecutorial disposition, will see things my way either.

Which means I doubt I’ll be buying an Echo any time soon. Amazon is fighting the court order in New Hampshire, as well it should. If people realize they’re inviting a government stooge into their homes, it might hurt sales.

Alexa, Tell Me About the Homicide: Judge Orders Amazon to Turn Over Echo Data [Legal Tech News]

Elie Mystal is the Executive Editor of Above the Law and the Legal Editor for More Perfect. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at elie@abovethelaw.com. He will resist.

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Apple says XR is "best-selling iPhone" - Seeking Alpha

Posted: 29 Nov 2018 05:12 AM PST

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Apple says XR is "best-selling iPhone" Seeking Alpha
Apple wants more iPhone owners to upgrade to the XR and XS — and it just unveiled a new promotion in time for the holidays Business Insider
Apple is finally paying for its hubris The Week Magazine
Apple says the iPhone XR is its best-selling phone, but without numbers The Verge
Totally clear cases for iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR. Cult of Mac
View full coverage on Google News

Google Assistant adds Pretty Please functionality, updated lists, and other features - The Verge

Posted: 29 Nov 2018 06:00 AM PST

The question of whether or not it's necessary to say "please" and "thank you" to smart assistants is one that divides users, but it's clear tech companies think it should at least be an option. Following Amazon's decision to reward children when they're polite to Alexa, Google is introducing similar functionality to the Google Assistant named Pretty Please (first announced at I/O earlier this year). It's part of a raft of new updates out today, including better list-taking functionality and more family-orientated games and stories.

Pretty Please is an optional feature which will "reinforce polite behavior." If users say "please" or "thank you" to Google Assistant they'll be rewarded with what Google is calling "delightful responses." These mean that the Assistant will acknowledge their politeness and respond in kind. So, say something like "Hey Google, please set a timer for 5 minutes" and the Assistant will reply: "Thanks for asking so nicely. Alright, 5 minutes. Starting now."

The feature will be automatically enabled for all voice matched users (that is, those who have registered their voices using the app) and Google says it'll work with both smart displays and smart speakers. For parents worried that virtual assistants are encouraging bad manners in children, it'll be a good way to prod the little ones to remember their p's and q's.

Along with Pretty Please, Google is rolling out a clutch of small features and changes. These include a talkback feature for integration between Google smart displays and Nest Hello video doorbells, allowing you to speak to guests before letting them in, and an update to Assistant's note- and list-taking functionality.

With the update, users will have the ability to "manage multiple lists in one central place" using Google Assistant. With voice commands, users can create new, named lists ("Hey Google, create a gift list") and check what's on existing lists ("Hey Google, what's on my to-do list?"). These lists will be stored in the Assistant app, but Google says it'll soon be adding support for other services including Google Keep, Any.do, Bring!, and Todoist.

In time for the holidays, Google Assistant is also getting a bunch of new family-orientated features. These include new read-along stories from Disney, including "Mickey's Christmas Carol," and upcoming stories from films like Frozen, Aladdin, Mulan, and The Lion King. (You can see a full list of stories here.) And there are new standalone stories, no book required, including Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, and Dora the Explorer's Dora's Super Sleepover.

To follow on from those stories, Google Assistant can now also call Santa Claus. Say "Hey Google, Call Santa," and it'll start an interactive game. Santa is apparently rehearsing for a musical concert but only knows one song — guess who'll be able to help him out.

And to round out the updates, Google is also adding some new features to its screen and camera-enabled smart displays. These include a new way to set alarms (just swipe up from the home screen and tap the timer button), an easier way to share photos (just say "Hey Google, share this photo with April" to send it to someone in your contact list) and an update that lets users reply to the Assistant's "broadcast" functionality.

Broadcast lets users send a message to all Assistant-enabled speakers, but now users can reply to these group shouts. Google gives the example of someone sending the message back home: "Does anyone need anything from the store?" Users at home can then reply via Google Assistant on their phone or on a device. A handy feature for those last-minute shopping trips.

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