This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/28/amazon-refuses-to-let-police-access-suspects-echo-recordings
The article has changed 11 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Amazon refuses to let police access US murder suspect's Echo recordings Amazon refuses to let police access US murder suspect's Echo recordings | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Amazon has refused to hand over recordings from an Echo smart speaker to US police investigating a murder in Arkansas, according to court records seen by tech industry news site The Information. | Amazon has refused to hand over recordings from an Echo smart speaker to US police investigating a murder in Arkansas, according to court records seen by tech industry news site The Information. |
| Arkansas police issued a warrant to Amazon to turn over recordings and other information associated with the device owned by James Andrew Bates. Bates has been charged with the murder of a man found dead in his hot tub in November 2015. | Arkansas police issued a warrant to Amazon to turn over recordings and other information associated with the device owned by James Andrew Bates. Bates has been charged with the murder of a man found dead in his hot tub in November 2015. |
| The Seattle-based tech company twice declined to provide the police with the information they requested from the device, although it did provide Bates’s account information and purchase history, the report said court records show. | The Seattle-based tech company twice declined to provide the police with the information they requested from the device, although it did provide Bates’s account information and purchase history, the report said court records show. |
| Although the Echo is known for having “always-on” microphones to enable its voice-controlled features, the vast majority of the recordings it makes are not saved for longer than the few seconds it takes to determine if a pre-set “wake word” (usually “Alexa”) has been said. Only if that wake word has been heard does the device’s full complement of microphones come on and begin transmitting audio to Amazon. | Although the Echo is known for having “always-on” microphones to enable its voice-controlled features, the vast majority of the recordings it makes are not saved for longer than the few seconds it takes to determine if a pre-set “wake word” (usually “Alexa”) has been said. Only if that wake word has been heard does the device’s full complement of microphones come on and begin transmitting audio to Amazon. |
| While that would seem to limit the use of the Echo data in the investigation, the device is also occasionally accidentally activated, through similar sounds. Those snippets of audio could potentially be useful to police investigating a crime, as could the timing information of when they were recorded. According to the report, the court records show police took the Echo and extracted some data from it. | While that would seem to limit the use of the Echo data in the investigation, the device is also occasionally accidentally activated, through similar sounds. Those snippets of audio could potentially be useful to police investigating a crime, as could the timing information of when they were recorded. According to the report, the court records show police took the Echo and extracted some data from it. |
| Police also extracted data from a different smart home device, a water meter. Bates’ smart water meter recorded a flow of 140 gallons between 1am and 3am, the report said. Prosecutors claim this is an unfeasibly large amount of water use, and allege it was the result of the garden hose being used to spray the patio clean of blood. Bates’s defence team disputes the accuracy of the readings. | Police also extracted data from a different smart home device, a water meter. Bates’ smart water meter recorded a flow of 140 gallons between 1am and 3am, the report said. Prosecutors claim this is an unfeasibly large amount of water use, and allege it was the result of the garden hose being used to spray the patio clean of blood. Bates’s defence team disputes the accuracy of the readings. |
| Bates pleaded not guilty in April 2016 and is on bail awaiting trial early next year. | Bates pleaded not guilty in April 2016 and is on bail awaiting trial early next year. |