Police in Arkansas recently asked Amazon to hand over any audio captured by a voice-enabled smart speaker recovered from the home of a murder suspect, spurring privacy concerns and raising questions about the listening capabilities of devices like the company’s widely-sold Echo.
The request involves an Amazon Echo that was discovered not far from the scene where authorities discovered the body of Victor Collins on Nov. 22, 2015.
Police say Collins had been watching football at the Bentonville residence of James Andrew Bates prior to being discovered dead in Mr. Bates’ hot tub. Mr. Bates was subsequently arrested and charged with first-degree murder, and has been free on bail pending the outcome of a trial slated to begin in 2017.
As prosecutors put together their case against Mr. Bates, investigators recently asked Amazon to produce audio recordings made by an Echo smart speaker found near near the crime scene, The Information website first reported Tuesday.
Specifically, the Bentonville Police Department served Amazon with a search warrant compelling the company to provide “electronic data in the form of audio recordings, transcribed records or other text records related to communications and transactions” involving an Amazon Echo recovered from Mr. Bates’ residence.
Marketed by Amazon as a hands-free, voice-controlled device, the Echo listens for verbal cue that could be used to execute various commands upon either first speaking the word “Amazon” or “Alexa,” the name given to the company’s intelligent personal assistant central to the Echo.
“The Amazon Echo device is constantly listening for the ’wake’ command of ’Alexa’ or ’Amazon,’ and records any command, inquiry or verbal gesture given after that point, or possibly at all times without the ’wake word’ being issued, which is uploaded to Amazon.com’s servers at a remote location. It is believed that these records are retained by Amazon.com and that they are evidence related to the case under investigation,” according to an affidavit filed in the case.
According to USA Today, the Bentonville Police Department’s peculiar request for Amazon date likely signals the first time ever that a company has been asked in court to produce audio captured by an internet-connected device not specifically marketed as a sound recorder.
As evidenced so far, however, authorities are facing an uphill battle with respect to having Amazon honor their request.
“Amazon will not release customer information without a valid and binding legal demand properly served on us,” a company spokesperson told Mashable with regards to what the representative described as an “overbroad or otherwise inappropriate” demand from authorities.
Kimberly Weber, a defense attorney for Mr. Bates, said Amazon may set a dangerous precedent for future potential privacy violations by honoring the request in any way.
“You have an expectation of privacy in your home, and I have a big problem that law enforcement can use the technology that advances our quality of life against us,” she told Mashable.
Authorities say Collins died of strangulation with drowning as a secondary cause. Investigators previously sought and successfully acquired information recorded by Mr. Bates’ water meter from the night of the murder, the likes of which reportedly indicated that roughly 140 gallons of water shortly before Collins was discovered dead.
According to police, the spike in usage during that span suggests Mr. Bates may have attempted to wash blood from his patio after killing Collins.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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