CES Gadget Show: Surveillance is in - and in a big way
CES Gadget Show: Surveillance is in - and in a
big way
From the face scanner that will check in some attendees to the
cameras-everywhere array of digital products, the CES gadget show is all-in on
surveillance technology — whether it calls it that or not.
Nestled
in the “smart home” and “smart city” showrooms at the sprawling Las Vegas
consumer tech conference are devices that see, hear and track the people they
encounter. Some of them also analyze their looks and behavior. The technology
on display includes eyelid-tracking car dashboard cameras to prevent distracted
driving and “rapid DNA” kits for identifying a person from a cheek swab sample.
All these talking speakers, doorbell cameras and fitness
trackers come with the promise of making life easier or more fun, but they’re
also potentially powerful spying tools. And the skeptics who
raise privacy and security concerns can be easily drowned out in the flashy
spectacle of gee-whiz technology.
“Many, many horrible stories have come out of consumer
electronics,” said Cindy Cohn, executive director of the Electronic Frontier
Foundation, who is speaking on a CES panel about the future of
internet-connected devices. “It’s often about hyping the next thing you can buy
and not considering the trade-offs.”
CES runs Tuesday to Friday after two days of media previews. The
annual showcase is where big companies and startups unveil and promote their
latest gadgets, many of them infused with microphones, cameras and artificial
intelligence. Though weighted toward the consumer market, much of what’s on
display may also be useful to law enforcement, not to mention prying employers
or heavy-handed governments.
Marcus Yang, CEO of the camera startup Amaryllo, said he’s had a
difficult time persuading customers to pay more for safeguards such as faster
processors to enable end-to-end encryption, when an array of cheaper, but less
secure options are available.
Yang said he’s hopeful that “something is changing this year”
after a series of privacy scandals and security
breaches has brought attention to the dangers of unfettered surveillance
technology. And eventually, he said, regulators are likely to step in with
security requirements.
Amazon’s security camera division Ring, which has set up a “Ring
House” to show off its home devices, recently had to defend its safety
practices following reports
of hackers breaking into Ring camera systems and harassing
children. It’s also faced criticism from privacy advocates and U.S. lawmakers over its growing
partnerships with police. At CES on Monday, the company announced a new
“control center” for camera owners to adjust their privacy settings and opt out
of police requests for footage.
Ring competitor Wyze Labs, an honoree in the CES 2020 innovation
awards, announced a data breach just after Christmas affecting 2.4 million
customers. And widely used voice assistants made by Google, Amazon and Apple
all came under scrutiny in 2019 for data retention practices that allowed
employees and contractors to listen to users’ audio recordings.
There’s been some push back, at least on facial recognition and
other surveillance technology from China. Hikvision and iFlytek, two Chinese
tech companies that showed off their artificial intelligence at CES 2019, now
face U.S. export
restrictions because the Trump administration says the
technology has been used in the repression of China’s Muslims.
But China isn’t the only place where the lines have blurred
between consumer technology and government surveillance operations. Watchful
residents of American neighborhoods are increasingly encouraged by Ring to
share their doorbell video footage with police detectives. And device-makers
are counting on consumers buying into ever-more elaborate forms of computer
vision and other AI technology to give them peace of mind.
Camera-maker Arlo this week launched its first wireless
floodlight camera, with night vision, a siren, two-way audio to converse with
intruders and an ambient light sensor to automatically adjust its brightness.
Another company, Sunflower Labs, is using CES to show off its “home drone
security” system. If trespassers step onto your lawn, a camera-equipped drone
flies out from its resting place to take a look at them and streams the live
video to your phone.
Sound like something that might guard the lair of a James Bond
villain? CEO Alex Pachikov says it’s actually less intrusive to neighbors than
your run-of-the-mill doorbell camera, because it’s only looking down at your
own property.
Serious talk about privacy protections and regulations isn’t
completely absent at CES. The schedule includes panel talks connecting
policymakers with privacy executives from companies like Apple and Facebook.
Venture capitalist Rajeev Chand, who is moderating one of those
panels, said tech companies are getting better at seeing themselves as
custodians, not the owners, of user data, but much more needs to be done.
“We are probably at the first or second inning for how privacy
re-shapes the consumer tech industry,” said Chand, a partner and head of
research at Wing Venture Capital.
But even as some U.S. policymakers seek to restrict or ban
facial recognition, the conference is getting its attendees more accustomed to
everyday uses of surveillance technology in commercial and security settings.
Attendees at the gadget show can use their face to pick up their
event badges for the first time.
“We’re experimenting with it,” said Gary Shapiro, CEO of the
Consumer Technology Association, which organizes CES.
He dismissed privacy concerns, saying that attendees have a
choice.
“You’re opting in,” he said. “If you want to do it, you’ll have
an opportunity to do it.”
Cohn, of EFF, said she plans to skip the face scanners because
she doesn’t know who has control over the images they collect. She said there’s
only so much that consumers can do to guard against misuse.
“There is a risk treating this as an individual decision,” she
said. “That’s not really fair or right to do to people. We need to fix the
policies.”
AP writers Rachel Lerman and Joseph Pisani contributed to this
report.
AP’s CES coverage: https://apnews.com/Consumerelectronics
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