*By Conor White*
Amazon tried to assure customers Friday that Alexa was not spying on them after it was revealed that one of the company's Echo devices recorded a couple's conversation and sent the audio file to someone in their contacts list without their knowledge.
The incident confirmed the fears of many smart-home skeptics : Big Commerce is listening to their every word.
"Not just Amazon ー Google, Apple, anyone with a smart home assistant who has a privacy issue ー they need to come totally clear about what their privacy policy is for your data," said Andrew Freedman, a senior editor at Tom's Guide. "And right now, they aren't saying 'Oh this is how often Amazon Echo is falsely triggered.' So we don't know these numbers, so it's hard to feel totally safe."
A husband and wife in Portland, Ore., received word that their conversation had been recorded when an employee of the husband told them a recording was sent out. The couple has said they thought it was a joke, but they were convinced when the person was able to tell them that their conversation was about hardwood floors.
Amazon says the Echo device, more commonly known as Alexa, simply got confused, and misinterpreted a series of commands.
"There have been a series of issues before where TV sets have turned on Alexa, or things happen where it just misunderstood what people say," said Freedman. "So what Amazon has to do here is make sure its voice-recognition technology is tight, that it just works, and right now it is clearly not there."
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/amazons-unintended-echo).
Stephen Kates, Financial Analyst at Bankrate, joins to discuss the Fed’s 25-basis-point rate cut, inflation risks, and what it all means for consumers and marke
Big tech earnings take center stage as investors digest results from Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple, with insights from Gil Luria of D.A. Davidson
Disney content has gone dark on YouTube TV, leaving subscribers of the Google-owned live streaming platform without access to major networks like ESPN and ABC. That’s because the companies have failed to reach a new licensing deal to keep Disney channels on YouTube TV. Depending on how long it lasts, the dispute could particularly impact coverage of U.S. college football matchups over the weekend — on top of other news and entertainment disruptions that have already arrived. In the meantime, YouTube TV subscribers who want to watch Disney channels could have little choice other than turning to the company’s own platforms, which come with their own price tags.
President Donald Trump said he has decided to lower his combined tariff rates on imports of Chinese goods to 47% after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on curbing fentanyl trafficking.
Universal Music Group and AI platform Udio have settled a copyright lawsuit and will collaborate on a new music creation and streaming platform. The companies announced on Wednesday that they reached a compensatory legal settlement and new licensing agreements. These agreements aim to provide more revenue opportunities for Universal's artists and songwriters. The rise of AI song generation tools like Udio has disrupted the music streaming industry, leading to accusations from record labels. This deal marks the first since Universal and others sued Udio and Suno last year. Financial terms of the settlement weren't disclosed.
