yoohoocomics - just in case the force of the habit made your paranoia
decrease somehow... this was posted on diaspora, copy and paste here===>
I’m Terrified of My New TV: Why I’m Scared to Turn This Thing On — And
You’d Be, Too
I just bought a new TV. The old one had a good run, but after the volume got
stuck on 63, I decided it was time to replace it. I am now the owner of a new
“smart” TV, which promises to deliver streaming multimedia content,
games, apps, social media, and Internet browsing. Oh, and TV too.
The only problem is that I’m now afraid to use it. You would be too — if
you read through the 46-page privacy policy.
The amount of data this thing collects is staggering. It logs where, when,
how, and for how long you use the TV. It sets tracking cookies and beacons
designed to detect “when you have viewed particular content or a particular
email message.” It records “the apps you use, the websites you visit, and
how you interact with content.” It ignores “do-not-track” requests as a
considered matter of policy.
It also has a built-in camera — with facial recognition. The purpose is to
provide “gesture control” for the TV and enable you to log in to a
personalized account using your face. On the upside, the images are saved on
the TV instead of uploaded to a corporate server. On the downside, the
Internet connection makes the whole TV vulnerable to hackers who have
demonstrated the ability to take complete control of the machine.
More troubling is the microphone. The TV boasts a “voice recognition”
feature that allows viewers to control the screen with voice commands. But
the service comes with a rather ominous warning: “Please be aware that if
your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that
information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third
party.” Got that? Don’t say personal or sensitive stuff in front of the
TV.
You may not be watching, but the telescreen is listening.
I do not doubt that this data is important to providing customized content
and convenience, but it is also incredibly personal, constitutionally
protected information that should not be for sale to advertisers and should
require a warrant for law enforcement to access.
Unfortunately, current law affords little privacy protection to so-called
“third party records,” including email, telephone records, and data
stored in “the cloud.” Much of the data captured and transmitted by my
new TV would likely fall into this category. Although one federal court of
appeals has found this rule unconstitutional with respect to email, the
principle remains a bedrock of modern electronic surveillance.
According to retired General David Petraeus, former head of the CIA,
Internet-enabled “smart” devices can be exploited to reveal a wealth of
personal data. “Items of interest will be located, identified, monitored,
and remotely controlled through technologies such as radio-frequency
identification, sensor networks, tiny embedded servers, and energy
harvester,” he reportedly told a venture capital firm in 2012. “We’ll
spy on you through your dishwasher” read one headline. Indeed, as the
“Internet of Things” matures, household appliances and physical objects
will become more networked. Your ceiling lights, thermostat, and washing
machine — even your socks — may be wired to interact online. The FBI will
not have to bug your living room; you will do it yourself.
Of course, there is always the “dumb” option. Users may have the ability
to disable data collection, but it comes at a cost. The device will not
function properly or allow the use of its high-tech features. This leaves
consumers with an unacceptable choice between keeping up with technology and
retaining their personal privacy.
We should not have to channel surf worried that the TV is recording our
behavior for the benefit of advertisers and police. Companies need to become
more mindful of consumer privacy when deciding whether to collect personal
data. And law enforcement should most certainly be required to get a warrant
before accessing it.
In the meantime, I’ll be in the market for a new tinfoil hat and cone of
silence.
