Facebook to Delay Smart Speaker Unveiling Amid User Data Scandal

[MacRumors]

Facebook has chosen not to unveil its latest smart connected devices at the company's F8 developer conference in May, in part because of the ongoing data-privacy scandal that has engulfed the social network, according to people familiar with the matter.

Bloomberg reports that Facebook's new home products, which include a video-capable smart speaker featuring the company's own digital assistant, are now being held back from public view, pending a deeper review into the devices' processing of user data. Although the hardware wasn't expected to launch until the fall, Facebook had planned to preview the devices at its annual developer summit, according to the paper's sources.

The devices are part of Facebook's plan to become more intimately involved with users' everyday social lives, using artificial intelligence -- following a path forged by Amazon.com Inc. and its Echo in-home smart speakers. As concerns escalate about Facebook's collection and use of personal data, now may be the wrong time to ask consumers to trust it with even more information by placing a connected device in their homes. A Facebook spokeswoman declined to comment.

In the last few weeks, Facebook has come under increasing scrutiny over its user data practices, after reports emerged that political advertising firm Cambridge Analytica procured information on 50 million social network users without seeking permission.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is set to testify in front of Congress on privacy in the coming weeks, but the chief executive has so far refused a British request to appear before a parliamentary committee and answer questions about the social network's involvement in data misuse.

Article Link: Facebook to Delay Smart Speaker Unveiling Amid User Data Scandal

 

[CarpalMac]

Indefinitely, I'd recommend.

 

[haruhiko]

Facebook smart speaker... are you kidding?
Not even the Nazi overlord could hear your every whisper at home, and now every major tech company can do it.

 

[willmtaylor]

“Pending a deeper view into the devices’ processing of user data.”

Translation (in a Samuel L Jackson voice) - “Alexa, get that mother ****ing tracking software off that mother ****ing speaker, NOW!”

 

[democracyrules]

Facebook has chosen not to unveil its latest smart connected devices at the company's F8 developer conference in May, in part because of the ongoing data-privacy scandal that has engulfed the social network, according to people familiar with the matter.

Bloomberg reports that Facebook's new home products, which include a video-capable smart speaker featuring the company's own digital assistant, are now being held back from public view, pending a deeper review into the devices' processing of user data. Although the hardware wasn't expected to launch until the fall, Facebook had planned to preview the devices at its annual developer summit, according to the paper's sources.
In the last few weeks, Facebook has come under increasing scrutiny over its user data practices, after reports emerged that political advertising firm Cambridge Analytica procured information on 50 million social network users without seeking permission.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is set to testify in front of Congress on privacy in the coming weeks, but the chief executive has so far refused a British request to appear before a parliamentary committee and answer questions about the social network's involvement in data misuse.

Article Link: Facebook to Delay Smart Speaker Unveiling Amid User Data Scandal

Facebook should not be blamed much because everyone who uploading their private information to internet shares blames as well. Uploading any private and personal pictures or personal information to internet exposes any personal information and pictures “voluntarily” to public, which is not smart. Thus, I have no no empathy to those who exposes their personal information in internet voluntarily gets issues. Internet is not a private place. Fortunate for me and those who do not voluntarily upload any personal information and personal pictures to internet voluntarily and who protect our personal information from public knowledge.

 

[MLVC]

Facebook should not be blamed much because everyone who uploading their private information to internet shares blames as well. Uploading any private and personal pictures or personal information to internet exposes any personal information and pictures “voluntarily” to public, which is not smart. Thus, I have no no empathy to those who exposes their personal information in internet voluntarily gets issues. Internet is not a private place. Fortunate for me and those who do not voluntarily upload any personal information and personal pictures to internet voluntarily and who protect our personal information from public knowledge.

Yet also information from people who do not use FB, but are friends with people who do, is exposed. So even if you act all smug that you do not voluntarily upload anything, somebody you know might and your info might already be out there for the world to see/buy.

 

[ginkobiloba]

Facebook +" smart speaker".
The simple fact that such thing could exist and that there are people who are ready to buy it blows my mind.

 

[jsmith189]

Just what the world needs, an (even more) always listening Facebook. Keep it, Zuck.

 

[itsmilo]

Facebook should not be blamed much because everyone who uploading their private information to internet shares blames as well. Uploading any private and personal pictures or personal information to internet exposes any personal information and pictures “voluntarily” to public, which is not smart. Thus, I have no no empathy to those who exposes their personal information in internet voluntarily gets issues. Internet is not a private place. Fortunate for me and those who do not voluntarily upload any personal information and personal pictures to internet voluntarily and who protect our personal information from public knowledge.

You don’t have to be an FB user to be tracked by fb. They track you via their social plug ins which almost every website got nowadays. As a EU citizens you can opt-out tho but still u never know ...

 

[spazzcat]

Facebook should not be blamed much because everyone who uploading their private information to internet shares blames as well. Uploading any private and personal pictures or personal information to internet exposes any personal information and pictures “voluntarily” to public, which is not smart. Thus, I have no no empathy to those who exposes their personal information in internet voluntarily gets issues. Internet is not a private place. Fortunate for me and those who do not voluntarily upload any personal information and personal pictures to internet voluntarily and who protect our personal information from public knowledge.

People are mostly upset with the harvesting of text messages from their phones. They did not post this information on FB.

 

[Johnny London]

Why is this a scandal? People have to realize that if things are free on the internet, they are the product.

 

[Localcelebrity]

I find it hilarious that a company people already found untrustworthy was even considering doing this. It’s hilariously absurd.

 

[nwcs]

May these devices do as well as the Facebook phone...

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Facebook smart speaker... are you kidding?
Not even the Nazi overlord could hear your every whisper at home, and now every major tech company can do it.

You seem to be leaving out how we readily PAY them for such devices, even stand in lines trying to be "first!", and then gush how this one is better than that one at hearing from across the room and/or wishing that the one we had could hear as well as some other one. If no-one paid for such devices, there would be no market and thus this problem would not exist. By throwing money at this kind of product, we encourage such devices and thus create this problem ourselves.

 

[haruhiko]

Facebook should not be blamed much because everyone who uploading their private information to internet shares blames as well. Uploading any private and personal pictures or personal information to internet exposes any personal information and pictures “voluntarily” to public, which is not smart. Thus, I have no no empathy to those who exposes their personal information in internet voluntarily gets issues. Internet is not a private place. Fortunate for me and those who do not voluntarily upload any personal information and personal pictures to internet voluntarily and who protect our personal information from public knowledge.

it’s one thing for user uploaded contents, and totally different for

You seem to be leaving out how we readily PAY them for such devices, even stand in lines trying to be "first!", and then gush how this one is better than that one at hearing from across the room and/or wishing that the one we had could hear as well as some other one. If no-one paid for such devices, there would be no market and thus this problem would not exist. By throwing money at this kind of product, we encourage such devices and thus create this problem ourselves.

As Zuckerberg once said, he didn’t know why people do that, they’re just dumb f***s

 

[griz]

What would a FB smart speaker offer? They don’t have a store or music service. Besides the obvious security implications I don’t even see what use it would have.

 

[maflynn]

I see no reason to buy/use a speaker from social network, especially because the consumer is the product that facebook makes money off of. I have zero interest in facebook these days and while they'll not be going away, I choose to not share my details with them

 

[sunapple]

Already deleted my Facebook account. I'm freeee!!

*crawls back into the Apple ecosystem*

 

[iapplelove]

Am I the only one who has never had a FB?

 

[CaTOAGU]

Facebook should not be blamed much because everyone who uploading their private information to internet shares blames as well. Uploading any private and personal pictures or personal information to internet exposes any personal information and pictures “voluntarily” to public, which is not smart. Thus, I have no no empathy to those who exposes their personal information in internet voluntarily gets issues. Internet is not a private place. Fortunate for me and those who do not voluntarily upload any personal information and personal pictures to internet voluntarily and who protect our personal information from public knowledge.

People agreed to give up some limited privacy and share some of *their* data with Facebook on the understanding that, users could have a convenient social network and Facebook could make some money selling adverts; not so that Facebook could assist in subverting democracy. Facebooks rhetoric has always been that they'll look after your data and that if they don't, they won't deserve to have it. Now, after they've been caught allowing any developer access to their data, they want to hide behind weasel worded EULA's and Privacy Policies. It is not a reasonable position to say everyone should have known, not everyone is technologically literate. And most people without a computer science background won't understand just how dangerous this data can be.

So you can have zero empathy if you wish but as well as technical knowledge, empathy, i.e. the understanding of the actions and emotions of others, will be required if we are to solve these issues going forward.

 

[sunapple]

Am I the only one who has never had a FB?

Well they do have some 2.2 billion active users, so I guess you are somewhat special.

 

[CarpalMac]

Facebook smart speaker... are you kidding?
Not even the Nazi overlord could hear your every whisper at home, and now every major tech company can do it.

Not only does Zuck think he is the new messiah, now his ego is headed to new levels...

 

[CaTOAGU]

Not only does Zuck think he is the new messiah, now his ego is headed to new levels...

The ending to that movie was really good, showing that Batman had in fact engineered his intelligence gathering apparatus to destroy itself. The message being that, although extreme measures are sometimes necessary, our principles define us, without them we are nothing and those with power must be willing to give it up.

 

[iapplelove]

Well they do have some 2.2 billion active users, so I guess you are somewhat special.

Oh I'm special alright lol...seriously though, for a while now when a family member or co worker asked what my FB was and I said I don't have one wow what an odd look I got. Almost like they didn't believe me. FB came out when I was in my early twenties and I had no interest then and still don't.

 

[Exile714]

Most people understand that Facebook sells their info for certain things like ads both on and off the Facebook website. People who choose to use their site accept this.

What people are upset about are the things you wouldn’t expect, like tracking non-Facebook users across the internet. The worst thing I heard about Facebook doing was accessing call histories from Android phones with the Facebook app installed (some of which come with it pre-installed and completely unremivable). These call histories weren’t Facebook voice calls, they were simply calls made on a phone that happened to have the app installed, without expressly requesting access to the call data (it was probably in the T+Cs but not in a way that someone would understand).

I’m so sick of all the people who say Facebook users should have expected this simply because they made the choice to share photos on a website. We live in a connected world, and there is a big difference between knowingly exchanging privacy for services and unknowingly having a company steal their private information that they never intended to share.