Smart home makers hoard your data, but won’t say if the police come for it

guest · Oct 19, 2018

Smart home makers hoard your data, but won’t say if the police come for it
Device makers won't say if your smart home gadgets spied on you
October 19, 2018
https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/19/smart-home-devices-hoard-data-government-demands/

A decade ago, it was almost inconceivable that nearly every household item could be hooked up to the internet. These days, it’s near impossible to avoid a non-smart home gadget, and they’re vacuuming up a ton of new data that we’d never normally think about.

Because the data is stored or accessible by the smart home tech makers, law enforcement and government agencies have increasingly sought data from the companies to solve crimes.

We asked some of the most well-known smart home makers on the market if they plan to release a transparency report, or disclose the number of demands they receive for data from their smart home devices.

For the most part, we received fairly dismal responses. [...]
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mirimir · Oct 20, 2018

Well, most providers don't want to upset authorities, even if some users think poorly of them for that. So it goes.

guest · Dec 11, 2019

Many smart home device makers still won’t say if they give your data to the government
December 11, 2019
https://techcrunch.com/2019/12/11/smart-home-tech-user-data-government/

A year ago, we asked some of the most prominent smart home device makers if they have given customer data to governments. The results were mixed.

The big three smart home device makers — Amazon, Facebook and Google (which includes Nest) — all disclosed in their transparency reports if and when governments demand customer data. Apple said it didn’t need a report, as the data it collects was anonymized.
As for the rest, none had published their government data-demand figures.

Smart locks know when someone enters your house, and smart doorbells can capture their face. Smart TVs know which programs you watch and some smart speakers know what you’re interested in.
Because the data is stored in the cloud by the devices manufacturers, law enforcement and government agencies can demand those companies turn over that data to solve crimes.
But as the amount of data collection increases, companies are not being transparent about the data demands they receive.
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Here’s what we found.

• Smart lock and doorbell maker August gave the exact same statement as last year, that it “does not currently have a transparency report and we have never received any National Security Letters or orders for user content or non-content information under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).”
• Roomba maker iRobot said, as it did last year, that it has “not received” any government demands for data.
• Arlo, a former Netgear smart home division that spun out in 2018, did not respond to a request for comment.
• Amazon-owned Ring [...] said last year it planned to release a transparency report in the future, but did not say when.
• Honeywell spokesperson Megan McGovern would not comment and referred questions to Resideo, the smart home division Honeywell spun out a year ago. Resideo’s Bruce Anderson did not comment.
[...]
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On the whole, the companies’ responses were largely the same as last year.
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Smart home makers hoard your data, but won’t say if the police come for it

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