Overheard: Debate over Alexa and data regulation

Leveraging over 10 years of past presidential and congressional campaign and public affairs experience. Joshua Baca is senior vice president of DDC Public Affairs, and chairman of DDC’s technology industry practice. Reach him @BeltwayBaca.

Amazon’s Echo voice assistant was one of the most popular gadgets sold this holiday season. According to a post-holiday news release by Amazon, “Echo and Echo Dot were the best-selling products across Amazon this year” and sales were “more than 9x over last year’s holiday season.”

Powered by Alexa’s voice recognition software, the Echo allows consumers to interact directly with the device by asking to read the weather, play music, order products directly from Amazon and dictate an audiobook. It’s so advanced that entire homes and other smart devices that control your home’s temperature, lights and security systems can all operate through Amazon Echo. The device serves as the central system that controls all voice-enabled prompts for these devices.

A murder case in Arkansas is raising new concerns over the balance of consumer privacy versus legal evidence that could be key to solving the case. Prosecutors have subpoenaed Amazon to turn over the recording from an Amazon Echo that was found in the home of the murder, arguing that the data stored on the device could provide clues to the case. Amazon and other privacy rights activists have resisted, arguing that turning it over pushes the constitutional limits they are granted.

For artificial intelligence gadgets like Amazon’s Echo to operate, they need large amounts of data. These devices are constantly listening even when you are not prompting them with questions or requests because they have to be prepared to provide the intelligence the user is requesting. When a consumer prompts the Echo with a request to Alexa, they are transmitted and stored in the cloud.

The large amounts of data that companies like Amazon have access to is raising concerns about consumer privacy and the need for regulators to provide safeguards for consumers. Data regulation could in fact be the next major regulatory battle the technology industry is faced with.

The reality is there needs to be a balanced approach. European-style regulations and safeguards would almost ensure that companies like Amazon, Google and Apple could never have been founded in the U.S. Modern communication is happening on a mobile device, through artificial intelligence and on other breakthrough technology. It is making the world better by allowing consumers to track their fitness, monitor their finances or control their homes.

But an approach that ensures bad actors are not taking advantage of consumers with their data is reasonable and needed. The promise of artificial intelligence and the advancement of it might be the North Star that rallies an entire generation with the groundbreaking discoveries it might present.

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