Amazon refuses to release Alexa data in murder trial
Revealing files from the voice control system would violate its First Amendment rights, argues internet giant
Amazon is continuing to fight efforts to force it to hand over personal information obtained by its Alexa voice control system for a US murder trial.
The internet giant is contesting a search warrant issued in the case against James Bates, who is accused of killing former Georgia police officer Victor Collins in 2015, Forbes reports.
Police say information stored on Bates's Amazon Echo wireless speaker, which uses the Alexa service, could be useful in their investigation.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
However, Amazon argues that Alexa has First Amendment rights as the system contains "a multitude of data" that cannot be isolated to one single event.
It also says the warrant will "inevitably chill users from exercising their First Amendment rights to seek and receive information and expressive content in the privacy of their own home".
This isn't the first case of a company protecting its user data after a warrant has been issued – last year, Apple refused an FBI request to unlock the iPhone of the San Bernardino shooter, says Engadget.
Opening an access door could have comprised "the security of every iPhone moving forward", adds the site, as the FBI had already locked itself out of the device by attempting to change the iPhone's password.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Justice Department bites Apple with iPhone suit
Speed Read The lawsuit alleges that the tech company monopolized the smartphone industry
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
The complex environmental toll of artificial intelligence
The explainer AI is very much mostly not green technology
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Artificial history
Opinion Google's AI tailored the past to fit modern mores, but only succeeded in erasing real historical crimes
By Theunis Bates Published
-
Apple kills its secret electric car project
Speed Read Many of the people from Project Titan are being reassigned to work on generative AI
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
AI is recreating the voices of mass shooting victims
The Explainer The parents of these victims are using the AI to try and lobby Congress for gun control
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
The murky world of AI training
Under the Radar Despite public interest in artificial intelligence models themselves, few consider how those models are trained
By Austin Chen, The Week UK Published
-
Is Google's new AI bot 'woke'?
Talking Points Gemini produced images of female popes and Black Vikings. Now the company has stepped back.
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
How AI can — and cannot — be used to help air traffic controllers
The Explainer Some in the industry say AI will never replace humans, but can still be a useful assistant
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published