The Bloomberg piece has attracted much attention from digital device users due to the increasing market share that has influenced competitors in entering the industry. The rival firms entering the market seem to have similar specifications in their new devices, although some tend to differ in minor aspects such as storage capacity and quality public (de Bustos, 2019). The issue of privacy and security among clients of digital devices remains a serious matter that has raised much concern across the globe. The article shows how personal assistants of digital records communications among employees and buyers making these devices have increased access to the recordings.
The article has also gained much attention because it contains sensitive client privacy issues. First, clients tend to acquire digital appliances to fulfill activities relating to entertainment. Such activities include news updates, streaming of music, light controls, information searches, and calling of contacts. In this case, it is essential to note that most buyers do not acquire such devices at the cost of using their private information. In other words, no customer wishes to make their personal life public (de Bustos, 2019). This implies that most buyers have some of their sensitive information recorded without their awareness. After coming across such details in the article, most clients become scared after realizing the extent of the publicity of private conversations they make on these digital devices.
Additionally, the article has drawn the public’s attention since many are in the line of acquiring digital devices. Therefore, they need clarification on why their private information is being recorded. Customers need to know the use of the collected information and the degree of protection of such data. From the article, most buyers wonder how their private conversations tend to be covered without their awareness. Whenever one acquires digital devices, the hope that increases the demand is that their privacy is maintained at all levels.
For the above reason, these digital devices are likely to reduce their demand in the market since most buyers feel their privacy is infringed. The human rights acts also require any information collected from people to be kept secret and shared if the person from whom the data is collected is fully aware. Engaging in the private collection of clients’ information is illegal, and the involved firms risk losing buyers’ confidence in the market.
Amazon is an international company serving its clients through physical and online stores. Its primary focus is on convenience, price, and selection of its products. Being a mighty company, it is not uncommon for it not to disclose all the material details concerning the alleged outrages. For this reason, I am not convinced by the company’s response as it appeared to be vague since workers still had access to buyers’ personal information. Therefore, the extent to which the security of collected data from the client is assured remains a question to be answered. Since the information is at employees’ disposal, some of whom might be dissatisfied with their work, the information might be recklessly shared with the public. Moreover, Amazon’s response to the issue seemed to avoid any reference relating to the Bloomberg claim, like the accusation that voice clip reviewers shared funny clips amongst buyers in the chat room.
Understanding the difference between listening and hearing helps one develop proper communication skills. Therefore, it is essential to distinguish between the two because listening is illegal. Hearing is the ability to sense the command of voice, while listening brings understanding to the agent, making communication insightful (Rosemann & Thiel, 2019). The power of voice used by Apple, Google, and Amazon is significant because they help activate their devices. Without such commands of voice, human workers using such devices would have increased access to personal details and listen illegally.
Buyers should be aware that upon acquiring digital voice-sensitive devices, their privacy might be compromised through unauthorized listening. Therefore, the distinction between the two will help one understand when the conversation gets illegal (Rosemann & Thiel, 2019). Since people mainly listen, the security of one’s conversation might not be guaranteed. The three companies using voice-sensitive devices need to implement sound policies that protect the information collected from buyers and ensure their security. Understanding the difference between the two will help the firms institute security on the information collected using electronic tools. The digital devices must be fitted with good security features that limit employees from unauthorized access to clients’ available data. This will help boost confidence among the device users, increasing their general demand in the market.
First, the three companies in question need to avoid using cookies that gather personal information to reassure the clients that their privacy will be protected. This helps in making things to be more private, hence building confidence in the users. Companies must also ensure that their client’s information is free from misuse by providing their users with more knowledge. People need to be taught how to recognize when the device is listening (Sharif & Tenbergen, 2020). This will help the user control what the intelligent speaker picks by muting and putting it on when necessary. Companies must also check their privacy policies to ensure proper audio recording control by managing who can access them.
Moreover, the companies can reassure users of security by educating them to delete some sensitive and old recordings from their devices. This will help customers control what is to be shared, enhancing their confidence in using digital devices. The firms can also use multiple authentication devices to make it difficult for hackers to access information in their accounts. The layer protection helps make it hard for unauthorized users to hack into the company’s account (Sharif & Tenbergen, 2020). To access the available information in the report, they will be required to prove authorization by providing the password and other additional details. The companies also need to secure their routers and those of their clients. The more one’s router is connected, the higher the protection of the linked devices, making it hard to access confidential information by illegal hackers.
The companies can also create strong passwords for their online accounts by mixing numbers and symbols with lower and uppercase. Common words need to be avoided to ensure unwarranted guessing by hackers (Sharif & Tenbergen, 2020). The same information can be passed to the users on how the available information is protected. This will help boost their confidence levels when using digital devices. Although such steps might sound inadequate compared to the level of damage that is sharing confidential messages poses, they help relieve the users. However, the best approach is avoidance of collecting personal information, especially if the person from whom the data is collected is unaware. The firm should seek the consent of the users and guarantee them necessary security before any recording.
References
de Bustos, J. M. (2019). Who will control the media? The impact of GAFAM on the media industries in the digital economy.
Rosemann, S., & Thiel, C. M. (2019). The effect of age-related hearing loss and listening effort on resting-state connectivity. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 1-9.
Sharif, K., & Tenbergen, B. (2020). Smart home voice assistants: a literature survey of user privacy and security vulnerabilities. Complex Systems Informatics and Modeling Quarterly, (24), 15-30.