Amazon refuses to give police the voice data from an Echo owned by a man charged with

[lockedout]

Amazon is declining to hand over the audio records transmitted through an Echo device that belongs to a man charged with murder, despite a search warrant from police investigating the case.

According to The Information's Tom Dotan and Reed Albergotti, the Echo device in question was owned by James Andrew Bates, a Bentonville, Arkansas, resident charged with first-degree murder earlier this year.

A man was found dead in a hot tub at Bates' home last year, and the police believe additional evidence for the case could be found in the Echo device.

The report says Amazon refused to hand over the audio data on two separate occasions, although Amazon did share Bates' account information and purchase history. The police were able to take some information out of the device, but it's unclear what that included.

This is likely the first murder case involving a search warrant for the Echo, Amazon's smash-hit voice-controlled device. The Echo is able to record only when it's activated by a wake word, like "Alexa," but it's capable of playing music, reading the news, or making certain types of orders with a user's voice commands. There's also a chance that the device could have been triggered accidentally, causing it to record a snippet of conversation that could be of use in the case.

Amazon sent Business Insider the following statement in response to this story:

"Amazon will not release customer information without a valid and binding legal demand properly served on us. Amazon objects to overbroad or otherwise inappropriate demands as a matter of course."

http://www.businessinsider.com/amazo...r-case-2016-12

[TwoNineMarine]

Good for Amazon.

I wonder how long will hold out for.

[Independent voter]

Just before an Amazon employee is put in jail for contempt of court, Amazon will release the info.

[lockedout]

Good for Amazon.

I wonder how long will hold out for.

It's basically because the police don't have a search warrant otherwise they would have complied, the scary thing is that the recordings are stored IMO.

[TwoNineMarine]

It's basically because the police don't have a search warrant otherwise they would have complied, the scary thing is that the recordings are stored IMO.

I take it they are stored on the device and not on their cloud yeah?

[kail]

Fire up a warrant and have at it.

- - - Updated - - -

It's basically because the police don't have a search warrant otherwise they would have complied, the scary thing is that the recordings are stored IMO.

Silver lining where it helps a murder investigation.

[Kapadons]

I agree they shouldn't release anything to the police until a warrant is served on them but they shouldn't try fighting a warrant. If you don't want your privacy invaded, don't do shady shit.

Define shady? Then let's ask the next guy and the next guy and the next and we will get 15 different answers. That's the issue with you line of thinking. You think "maybe" murder is shady but the guy next to you thinks yelling at your dog is shady and deserves reprisal. Everyone is entitled to privacy from the government overseeing them until it has been legally determined by a judge in good standing within your jurisdiction that it is beneficial to the common wealth of society that your privacy be given second status to information. Even then we have a whole slew of parameters and laws pertaining to what can and can't be dismissed.


OT- good for Amazon.

[TZucchini]

I have an echo, and I just figure it's constantly recording every conversation I'm having within range of the device. Not worried about it, but I could see why others might be.

[Aeriedk]

Well it appears that Amazon wants a warrant served to them. I know you said that they had one, but it appears not.

[Svifnymr]

I take it they are stored on the device and not on their cloud yeah?

Without bothering to read more than what's in the original post, I'd think the cops had a search warrant for premises but not a specific warrant for information from Amazon. If it was on device on premises, I'd think the original warrant would cover it, with a possible need for Amazons technical help to retrieve it. If the info is stored on Amazon servers, they'd need paperwork directly for Amazon.

[ComputerNerd]

It's basically because the police don't have a search warrant otherwise they would have complied, the scary thing is that the recordings are stored IMO.

That was my concern too.
I know that it is processed by them for the purpose of queries, but that it is stored beyond that is wrong.
In addition to it being irrelevant audio.

Perhaps it is in part to try and offset that they have it at all.

[PACOX]

Unless they have a specific warrant, it aint happening. If the police don't have the account credentials without a warrant they are SOL.

[Endus]

Standard practice on giving ANY info to the police outside of basic documentation should boil down to "do you have a warrant/probable cause?" and "is my lawyer present to be sure I say nothing that could be construed as self-incriminating?"

And if it's about turning any evidence over, that goes back to either "let me see the warrant" or "am I currently being charged and being asked to provide testimony/evidence to clear myself? Also where's my lawyer?"

It's not about helping the police do their jobs. That's not your duty or obligation, in the least. You should be looking out for YOUR interests, because the police won't.

[twiddler]

I take it they are stored on the device and not on their cloud yeah?

Stored in the cloud if they store everything. The way it sounds with this paper, it sounds like they store everything. Of course, it's AWS not the negatively connotated cloud that the general public has come to falsely be skeptic of.

[satimy]

Good for Amazon.

I wonder how long will hold out for.

Guaranteed its all for show, Amazon doesnt give a fuck about anyones privacy but their own

[Kathandira]

It's basically because the police don't have a search warrant otherwise they would have complied, the scary thing is that the recordings are stored IMO.

That was my first thought to. I will not be buying an echo now that I know they store audio recordings.

[Flatspriest]

Good. It isn't Amazon's job to do the police's work for them. If Amazon DOES end up giving them the data, they should send ALL the data contained and let the police figure out the encryption themselves as well as find the specific data they are looking for.

[Trassk]

If you don't want your privacy invaded, don't do shady shit.

I returned a kindle fire to amazon because it was kind of crap (fire 10), and made sure to wipe all the porn from it and put it back on factory setting. So unless they have a magic device that can revert previous factory setting I'm fine.