Amazon Echo Dot Kids remembers kids' conversations
What happened
Amazon Echo Dot Kids remembers kids' conversations
Occurred: May 2019Page published: March 2023Report incident🔥| Improve page 💁| Access database 🔢
A coalition of nineteen privacy groups filed a legal complaint with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleging that Amazon was holding onto a child’s personal information for too long and violating the US Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).The coalition, led by Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC), Center for Digital Democracy (CDC), and Georgetown University’s Institute for Public Representation, said Amazon's Echo Dot Kids smart speaker records and collects 'vast amounts of sensitive, personal information from children under 13' without adequate parental consent.The coalition also discovered that parents are unable to delete certain personal details - including date of birth - using the FreeTime feature on Amazon Alexa mobile app once a child tells the Echo Dot Kids Edition to remember them. Amazon responded by saying its Echo Dot Kids Edition was compliant with COPPA. CCFC and CDD had issued a May 2018 warning that Echo Dot endangers children’s privacy and threatens their healthy development by encouraging them to spend more time with and form 'faux relationships' with digital devices.
System 🤖Amazon AlexaDeveloper: AmazonCountry: USASector: Consumer goodsPurpose: Provide information, servicesTechnology: Speech recognition; Natural language understanding (NLU) Issue: Accountability; Privacy; Transparency
Research, advocacy 🧮Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, Center for Digital Democracy (2019). Advocates Demand FTC Investigation of Echo Dot Kids EditionCampaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, Center for Digital Democracy (2018). Experts and Advocates Caution Parents to Steer Clear of New Amazon Echo Dot for KidsConsumer Reports (2019). Amazon Echo Dot Kids Violates Privacy Rules, Advocates Claim
News, commentary, analysis 🗞️https://www.apnews.com/f062c28ae72144b3b22146d9d4c6fab3https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/9034852/amazon-echo-kids-alexa-recording-conversations/https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/amazon-accused-violating-children-s-privacy-kid-friendly-smart-speakers-n1003706https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/09/alexa-does-the-echo-dot-kids-protect-childrens-privacy/https://www.cnet.com/news/amazons-echo-dot-kids-violates-privacy-regulations-child-advocates-say/https://www.geekwire.com/2019/alexa-illegally-record-children-amazon-sued-allegedly-storing-conversations-without-consent/https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/6/14/18679360/amazon-alexa-federal-lawsuit-child-voice-recording
Related 🌐Amazon Alexa records children's voices without consentAmazon Alexa mistakenly orders USD 160 dollhouse
Reported impact
- Affected parties
- Not publicly disclosed
- Harm type
- Not publicly disclosed
- Scale
- Not publicly disclosed
- Financial impact
- Not publicly disclosed
- Regulatory action
- Not publicly disclosed
Classification
Relevant governance controls
Governance control mapping is not available for this record.
- No controls mapped
Not publicly disclosed
Control mapping is analytical. It does not state that any control would have prevented the incident.