Business
FTC urged by child advocates to investigate Amazon’s Alexa
By MATT O’BRIEN AP Technology Writer
May 08, 2019 10:44 PM
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FILE – This Dec. 20, 2017, file photo shows the Amazon Echo Dot stocked on a shelf alongside jars of Garlic Chili Sauce at the Amazon Prime warehouse in New York. Consumer advocates say the kids’ version of Amazon’s Alexa won’t forget what children tell it, even after parents try to delete the conversations. A coalition of groups on Thursday, May 9, 2019, is planning to ask the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether Amazon is holding onto children’s voice recordings and personal information longer than it should.
Mark Lennihan, File
AP Photo
Consumer advocates say the kids’ version of Amazon’s Alexa won’t forget what children tell it, even after parents try to delete the conversations.
A coalition of groups on Thursday is planning to ask the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether Amazon is holding onto children’s voice recordings and personal information longer than it should.
The complaint outlines flaws discovered while testing the new kid-oriented smart speaker Amazon introduced last year. In one example, the voice assistant remembers a girl’s walnut allergy even after an adult deleted that information.
The complaint says Amazon may be running afoul of the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
Amazon says its service complies with that law.
It’s unclear whether the FTC will take up the complaint, since its investigations are rarely public.