They always told us Alexa was tattle-telling on us to the government, but did we listen? Nooooooooooo!! Time to get out a rope and string that sucker up!
Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz has proposed a new law that would require companies that sell smart home devices to disclose to consumers whether they contain cameras or microphones and are capable of spying on their owners. He introduced the law with bipartisan support from Democratic Washington Senator Maria Cantwell, calling it the Informing Consumers about the Smart Devices Act.
Sen. Cruz pointed out that he usually is not in favor of government mandates, saying they are typically “unnecessary, burdensome, and costly.” But, Cruz said, when you balance the costs of requiring manufacturers to disclose spying capabilities against the potential harm that can be caused to consumers from their private information and photos potentially being shared or sold by corporations, the mandate is worthwhile. Sen. Cruz stated that protecting consumers from hidden dangers outweighs the concerns of government overreach in this situation.
According to Cruz, over 80 million American homes (nearly 70% of households) have at least one “smart home” product that can be controlled electronically or digitally. While he lauded the benefits of such products and technology, he emphasized concerns that personal information that can only be obtained from the privacy of one’s own home, could be recorded, transmitted, and shared, all without the owner’s knowledge.
This is not Cruz’s first rally against technological companies, as he recently shared on his podcast that he believes major car companies are eliminating AM radios due to the fact that the majority of talk radio shows are conservative. He stated that “big business doesn’t like things that are overwhelmingly conservative.”
