Thursday, May 9, 2019

Amazon Is Accused of Violating Kids’ Privacy With Smart Speakers


wsj.com

Advocacy groups say Echo Dot Kids device improperly retains conversations of users

An executive discussed the Amazon Echo Dot smart speaker during its unveiling in September. A version for children offers parental controls and family-focused features.PHOTO: ANDREW BURTON/BLOOMBERG NEWS
Amazon.com Inc. AMZN -1.50% is improperly recording and preserving the conversations of young users through its Echo Dot Kids devices, according to a complaint to be filed with federal regulators by a coalition of privacy and child-advocacy groups.
The complaint, which alleges Amazon stores the data in the cloud even after parents actively try to delete it, is one of the first to accuse the company of the sort of privacy abuses that have embroiled Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google.
It claims that Amazon’s practices violate federal law protecting the online privacy of kids, and calls on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate. The Wall Street Journal reviewed a draft version of the complaint, which the advocacy groups say they intend to file with the FTC on Thursday.
A spokesperson for Amazon said the company is compliant with federal privacy laws and that its privacy policies are disclosed on the company’s website.
Also on Thursday, Sen. Edward Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts, sent a letter to the FTC asking the agency to investigate the findings. The letter was cosigned by fellow senators Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.), Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) and Richard Durbin (D., Ill.).
“Children are a uniquely vulnerable population. We urge the Commission to take all necessary steps to ensure their privacy,” the letter said. 
Amazon launched Echo Dot Kids a year ago as a version of its Alexa smart speaker, but with parental controls and family-focused features. At the time, an Amazon executive described the device as “an entirely new way for kids to have fun and learn with Alexa,” while giving parents peace of mind knowing the content would be age-appropriate.
The voice-activated device collects transcripts of the voice recordings of its young users, along with viewing and listening habits, and keeps much of the information indefinitely, according to the complaint, which is based on an investigation by the Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood, and the Institute for Public Representation, a public-interest law clinic at Georgetown University.
Those practices, the groups say, violate the Children’s Online Privacyand Protection Act.
As part of their probe, the investigators tested an Echo Dot Kids feature that allows children to ask the device to remember information like addresses, telephone numbers or preferences. Using controls designed for parents, the investigators tried to delete transcripts of those and other conversations.

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They found in numerous tries that they couldn't change or delete the stored data. To erase a child’s personal information, a parent must contact customer support, the investigators found. Deleting a child’s profile, they found, would disable the features that made the device appropriate for kids, including parental controls, and end access to an Amazon content subscription service for children.
“Amazon markets Echo Dot Kids as a device to educate and entertain kids, but the real purpose is to amass a treasure trove of sensitive data that it refuses to relinquish even when directed to by parents,” says Josh Golin, executive director of the Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood.
Amazon’s privacy disclosures “are unclear and confusing,” according to the complaint, and don’t specify what personal information the company collects, how it is used or whether it is shared with third-party developers that make apps, which Amazon calls “skills” for the Echo Dot Kids device. Those apps can be downloaded from the Alexa Skill Store, accessible through the Amazon website or mobile app.
Amazon’s children’s privacy policy doesn’t apply to the third-party apps, according to the complaint. It directs parents to the privacy policy of third parties and tells them. “Before using any third party service, you should review the applicable terms and policies to determine their appropriateness for your child, including the service’s data collection and use practices,” the complaint says. The investigators say they created software to find and examine the privacy policies of the 2,077 kids skill apps they found in the Alexa store and discovered that 85% of them didn’t have any.
Write to Betsy Morris at betsy.morris@wsj.com
Appeared in the May 9, 2019, print edition as 'Amazon Device Draws Scrutiny.'

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