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Tech Trends | |
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Tuesday, October 09, 2018 05.45AM
/ By SCMP
The device comes in two sizes
and will include Amazon’s voice-activated digital assistant, Alexa; the device
will not display Facebook ads ‘at this time,’ the company said, but third-party
services might embed their own ads.
Facebook is launching the first
electronic device to bear its brand, a screen and camera-equipped gadget
intended to make video calls easier and more intuitive.
But it is unclear if people will open
their homes to an internet-connected camera sold by a company with a
questionable track record on protecting user privacy.
Facebook is marketing the device, called
Portal, as a way for its more than 2 billion users to chat with one another
without having to fuss with positioning and other controls.
The device features a camera that uses artificial
intelligence to automatically zoom as people move around during calls.
Facebook will offer Portal in two sizes –
a US$199 model with a 10-inch (25.4 cm) horizontal screen and a US$349 “Plus”
version with a 15.6-inch (39.6 cm) screen that can switch between vertical or
horizontal orientations.
Both
models also include an internet-connected speaker that includes Amazon’s
voice-activated digital assistant, Alexa. Portal connects calls through
Facebook’s Messenger app, meaning that it can connect calls with people who are
not using Portal.
Since Echo’s
release nearly four years ago, both Google and Apple have followed Amazon in
releasing smart speakers designed for use with their other digital services –
some of them, at least.
These
speakers can serve as hub-like controllers for “smart” homes as people install
appliances, lighting and security systems that can be controlled over the
internet.
Portal
represents Facebook’s entry into that fray. But pointing an artificially
intelligent camera into peoples’ homes could well raise other privacy
questions.
“The
first thing consumers are going to wonder is ‘how much sensitive data is this
collecting about me?’” said John Breyault, vice-president of public policy of
telecommunications and fraud at the National Consumers League, a
Washington-based consumer advocacy group that has received donations from
Facebook and other tech companies.
Earlier
this year, Facebook had to acknowledge that as many as 87 million people may
have had their data accessed by Cambridge Analytica, a data mining firm that
worked for the Trump campaign and aimed to use the data to influence elections.
More recently,
Facebook revealed that hackers managed to pierce its security to break into 50
million accounts.
Facebook says it
will not “listen to, view or keep the contents ” of video calls, adding that
the Portal camera will not use facial recognition or identify people in the
video calls.
The device will
allow users to disable the camera and microphone with a single tap and to lock
it with a numerical passcode. There is also a physical camera cover to prevent
recording.
Portal
will not display Facebook ads “at this time,” the company said, although it
noted that third-party services such as music streaming might embed their own
ads the same way they do on other devices.
“This is going
to gain (Facebook) not only a place in the smart home, but also data they may
not have been able to collect before or understand before,” said ABI Research
analyst Jonathan Collins. This includes people’s location, activities and
interests – “all the reasons companies want to get into the home.”
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