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National Post
25 minutes ago
- National Post
Proposed national class action filed against Amazon for breaching privacy of Alexa users
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Lawsuit from Charney Lawyers alleges Alexa products have collected more personal data from Canadian users than Amazon has disclosed An Amazon Echo, a compact smart speaker with Alexa that can play music, retrieve news and weather and control smart home devices. Photo by Luke MacGregor / Bloomberg A proposed class action lawsuit has been filed in the B.C. Supreme Court against Amazon over its Alexa technology. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS Enjoy the latest local, national and international news. Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events. Unlimited online access to National Post. National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE ARTICLES Enjoy the latest local, national and international news. Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events. Unlimited online access to National Post. National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors The lawsuit, submitted by B.C. law firm Charney Lawyers, alleges that Alexa products have collected more personal data from Canadian users than Amazon has disclosed. It also alleges that the tech giant retained the information, even when users tried to delete it, using it for business purposes such as training artificial intelligence and developing targeted advertising. The class action was filed in B.C., on behalf of representative plaintiff, Joseph Stoney, but its aim is to be national in scope. If the class action is certified by the court, it would cover all Canadian residents who had an Amazon Alexa account between 2014 and July 19, 2023. Get a dash of perspective along with the trending news of the day in a very readable format. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again 'Had they learned about this after signing up for Alexa, users would have discontinued their accounts,' the statement of claim asserts. The essence of the lawsuit is the allegation that Amazon failed to obtain meaningful, informed consent for retention and use of this data. As a result, the alleged data collection and use breached both privacy and consumer protection laws in Canada. 'In its terms of service Amazon made explicit commitments to Alexa users regarding their privacy. However, rather than protecting users privacy, Amazon: (1) kept the data it took from Alexa indefinitely; (2) used that data to train its algorithms, machine learning programs and AI; and (3) failed to fully delete the data when customers asked it to.' The suit sets out that since 2014, Amazon has been developing and selling Amazon 'Echo' devices, which are controlled by its cloud-based voice assistant, Alexa. Alexa can activate intentionally or accidentally, the claim says. Once Alexa begins streaming audio to the cloud, the audio interaction is transcribed to text, the lawsuit states. Then it is processed by an algorithm that instructs the Alexa how to respond to the user. If a request has been processed, a copy of the audio file, the transcription, the resulting instructions to Alexa, and any associated metadata is stored in an Amazon database, the claim alleges. Prior to 2020, users had no way to delete Alexa interaction-related data, and it was stored indefinitely, says the claim. And even though Amazon introduced a deletion function in 2020, it adds, Amazon only deleted the audio file, while retaining a transcription, the instructions, and associated metadata. 'When a user chose to delete the data on one or more of their interactions with Alexa, Amazon changed what was visible to the user so that it appeared that the interactions had been completely deleted even though Amazon was actually retaining everything except the audio file,' the claim says. This advertisement has not loaded yet. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Charney Lawyers also argues that some of this data may have been collected accidentally when Alexa mistook regular sounds for its 'wake word.' This means conversations users never intended for the device might have been picked up, transcribed and saved. The claim notes that in May 2023, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a complaint against Amazon, alleging the company falsely represented that Alexa app users could delete voice recordings, transcripts and metadata. And instead, Amazon allegedly only deleted voice recordings, keeping transcripts and associated metadata. In July 2023, Amazon agreed to pay a US$25-million fine and 'effectively admitted to a number of instances of unlawful data misuse.' The suit seeks damages, repayment of any profits Amazon gained from the use of the data, as well as repayment of the amount users paid for Alexa products and services. For potential participants in the suit, there is a registration page set up by Charney Lawyers for people who want updates or to potentially take part in the action. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.
National Post
25 minutes ago
- National Post
Telus strikes back at Cogeco and defends Joly's decision to uphold CRTC's wholesale internet rules
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. A pedestrian walks past the Telus Harbour building in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Photo by Brent Lewin / Bloomberg OTTAWA — Days after Cogeco's CEO blasted Industry Minister Melanie Joly for authorizing Canada's three major telecommunications companies to resell fibre optics to internet service providers on their respective networks, the only member of the big three telecoms in favour of the measure came to the minister's rescue. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS Enjoy the latest local, national and international news. Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events. Unlimited online access to National Post. National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE ARTICLES Enjoy the latest local, national and international news. Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events. Unlimited online access to National Post. National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors 'We have a government that's actually very committed to truly bringing competition and better choice for Canadians, I think, and not interested into political interference with their own administrative process,' said Telus chief technology officer Nazim Benhadid. Last week, Joly sided with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) after it decided to allow for greater competition on existing networks for high-speed Internet services across the country. 'By immediately increasing competition and consumer choice, the CRTC's decision aims to reduce the cost of high-speed Internet for Canadians and will contribute toward our broader mandate to bring down costs across the board,' Joly said in a statement. The decision means, for example, that Telus can use other providers' networks to attract thousands of customers in Ontario and Quebec instead of building its own infrastructure. It has angered major players in the sector, such as Bell, Rogers, Eastlink, and Cogeco, who said it would harm them, and the investments needed to improve their networks. They also questioned the potential for cost reduction. In an interview with the National Post, Benhadid cited Statistics Canada to claim that costs in some regions of the country had fallen by 13.5 per cent since the CRTC released the new framework a year ago. He also challenged his competitors to invest in Western Canada, where Telus has a strong presence. 'It's symmetrical. (All these companies) can come and compete in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver. Everywhere we serve, our fibre is available. So it's hard to understand this argument that it's not good. They don't want to come and compete in the west. It doesn't work for their strategy,' he said. Most of the sector's key players are based in Ontario and Quebec, with Montreal housing three headquarters. Telus is based in Vancouver, British Columbia. But Benhadid was quick to point out that when he joined Telus in 2000, fresh out of school, the company was a small amalgamation of regional players from Western Canada. This Montreal engineer, a graduate of the École Polytechnique at the Université de Montréal, recalls that the company he joined had only four employees in Quebec's largest city. Today, Telus has more than 6,000 employees in Montreal. 'So it's always been in our DNA to compete and be present across the country,' said Benhadid. During the interview, he often highlighted Cogeco's business model, which includes investments abroad, notably its failed attempt to conquer the Portuguese market two decades ago. This advertisement has not loaded yet. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Cogeco's strategy is to compete in the U.S., outside of Canada,' said Benhadid. The Telus executive's comments came a few days after the CEO for Cogeco told National Post he wanted to 'ring the alarm bell' because he never thought that 'such a damaging, dangerous decision' as the one Joly made on Aug. 6 'would or could be made.' 'We had high hopes that this new government would make better decisions for business and the Canadian economy,' Frédéric Perron said. 'And what we saw last week, by the minister's decision, is more reminiscent of old Trudeau era, superficial policies.' Many key industry players expected Minister Joly to announce her rejection of the CRTC's decision. But for Telus's CTO, these comments came as a surprise. 'I am surprised, because objectively they don't stand in front of the economic theories test,' Benhadid said. At a time when Prime Minister Mark Carney wants to see Canadian companies invest in Canada, several players in the telecommunications industry say that Joly's decision will not encourage them to do so. Financial analyses they're citing, including from Bank of America and National Bank, predict that such decision would lead to 'a decline in future investments in telecommunications infrastructure.' This file has also become a political melodrama in some corners of Parliament Hill. Since Joly announced her decision on a hot and dry summer evening last week, she has remained silent and did not offer any other comments than the statement she released. On Thursday afternoon, the Bloc Québécois asked the minister to review the decision. 'Maintaining this status quo makes no sense, especially since even two of the three major telecommunications players opposed it. By doing so, Minister Joly will prevent smaller telecommunications players from becoming competitive and growing, and it is the citizens who will pay the price,' said the Bloc's Industry critic Gabriel Ste-Marie. But for Telus, the regulatory issue is settled, and its leadership team is ready to move forward. The company recently announced it will expand broadband services in Ontario and Quebec with $2-billion investment in areas that don't already have fibre. 'So the areas that companies are saying they're not going to invest in we will. And after five years, they will have access to this fibre,' he said. 'So, their strategy is to not compete in Canada. Their strategy is to do something else. And now they're trying to justify their strategic choices.' National Post atrepanier@ Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our politics newsletter, First Reading, here.
CBC
26 minutes ago
- CBC
Flight attendant union asks jobs minister not to intervene in Air Canada negotiations
More than 10,000 flight attendants are poised to walk off the job around 1 a.m. ET on Saturday, followed by a company-imposed lockout if the two sides can't reach an eleventh-hour deal. The Canadian Union of Public Employees released a statement on Friday afternoon urging Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu "not to intervene" in negotiations by invoking Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code, "thereby permitting collective bargaining to continue and allowing the parties to negotiate a resolution." Air Canada had previously asked CUPE to consider binding interest arbitration, which would bring an arbitrator into the negotiations to make decisions on key agenda items that the two sides haven't been able to agree on. After CUPE declined that request earlier this week, Air Canada then asked Hajdu to make a referral under Section 107 that the negotiation be sent to arbitration. Hajdu gave CUPE until noon on Friday to respond. "We thank the union for their response. We strongly urge the parties to work with federal mediators and get a deal done. Time's precious and Canadians are counting on you," Hajdu's press secretary said in a statement to CBC News. Air Canada warned Friday it is cancelling around 500 flights previously scheduled to take off today in anticipation of the work stoppage, with a full stoppage looming Saturday. It said it would notify customers of cancellations through email and text message, adding it recommends against going to the airport unless they have a confirmed booking and their flight still shows as operating. CUPE released new polling by Abacus Data on Friday, suggesting that 59 per cent of Canadians believe the federal government should respect flight attendants' right to take job action, even if it causes travel disruptions. The weighted survey of 1,500 respondents, conducted Thursday and Friday, says 88 per cent of Canadians believe flight attendants should be paid for all work-related duties including boarding, delays and safety checks — a key sticking point in negotiations that has led to the impasse.
