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Abstract: Alexa, Amazon's digital voice assistant, and devices like it, are increasingly common. With this trend comes growing problems, as illustrated by a murder investigation in Bentonville, Arkansas. Police wanted Amazon to turn over data associated with the suspect's Echo device, hoping it had overheard something on the night of the murder. The case sparked wide-spread interest in the privacy implications of in-home devices that record audio of users. But the biggest threat to user privacy is not that Alexa may overhear a crime-it is that law enforcement will use such devices in new ways that users are not prepared for during investigations. Thus, a solution is needed for users to have the confidence and certainty that bringing these devices into their homes will not erode their privacy. This Comment proposes that companies should ensure privacy protections are engineered into their devices, and that legislatures should adopt forward-looking statutes to ensure protections for users.
INTRODUCTION
Several San Diego households were surprised when, in January 2017, Amazon notified them that they had attempted to buy a dollhouse.1 None of the families had placed an order for a dollhouse, yet Amazon tried to confirm the order anyway.2 Why did Amazon think each of these families had tried to order a dollhouse? The answer is Amazon's inhome, voice-activated device: the Echo.3
Amazon's voice-activated digital assistant, Alexa, powers Echo devices.4 The Echo works by listening for a wake word; by default, that word is "Alexa."5 Once "awake," the Echo device responds to requests.6 It can check the weather, order from Amazon, and search the internet.7 In short, people use the Echo by talking to it.
Returning to the mystery dollhouses: each of the dollhouse-ordering families owned an Echo and had been tuned into a certain news segment.8 That news segment detailed the story of an enterprising sixyear-old girl who had used her family's Echo to order herself a dollhouse and four pounds of cookies.9 Near the end of the segment, the anchor said, "I love the little girl saying, 'Alexa order me a dollhouse.'"10 That was enough to trigger Echo devices all around the San Diego area.11
Though accidental orders are ultimately harmless, not all accidental Echo uses are as innocent. For example, police sought data from an...