Amazon is the subject of a class-action lawsuit filed in Western Washington after a Massachusetts woman said her child was recorded by an Alexa-enabled device.
Voice recordings are covered in Alexa's terms of service, but this case involves a plaintiff who did not download the related Amazon app or agree to Alexa's terms.
The lawsuit asked for a damage amount to be determined at trial, attorneys’ fees and for Amazon to delete all recordings of people involved in the suit, among other requests.
The class-action lawsuit includes minors who used Alexa-enabled devices but who have not downloaded and installed the Alexa app. Those include minors in Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington.
Echo and Echo Dot devices use Alexa voice controls, though users do not expect the device to create permanent voice recordings unless specified. Echo devices initiate when a response a word, such as “Alexa,” is said.
The lawsuit alleges that Amazon saved a permanent recording of users’ voices “and uses these voice recordings for its own commercial benefit.”
The girl used an Echo Dot to play music, tell jokes and answer questions. The suit said the girl was not a registered user and didn’t agree to all her communications being recorded.
The class-action lawsuit was filed by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, of Seattle.
This is not the first time there has been frustration about recordings made by Amazon Echo devices.
In May 2018, a Portland, Oregon, family told KIRO 7 that a private conversation was recorded by an Amazon device and sent to a random person in the family's contact list. Read her story here and watch the video below.
Cox Media Group
