Migliaccio & Rathod LLP is investigating whether Amazon Fire TV devices with hands-free Alexa adequately disclose when microphones may remain active while a television appears to be off and whether microphone controls operate as consumers reasonably expect.
Certain Fire TV devices, including the Amazon Fire TV Cube and supported Amazon Fire TV televisions, contain microphones that allow consumers to use Alexa without pressing a button on the remote.
Amazon states that compatible Amazon Fire TV devices can respond to Alexa commands even when the television itself is off. For supported smart TVs, consumers must enable this capability in the device settings.
Amazon also states that when a supported Amazon Fire TV device detects the Alexa wake word, the device records audio associated with the request and sends that audio to Amazon’s cloud. According to Amazon, the transmitted audio can include a fraction of a second from immediately before the wake word.
Amazon Fire TV Cube devices include a physical microphone-off control. Amazon represents that when this control is activated, power to the microphones is disconnected and the device cannot record or stream microphone audio to the cloud.
Migliaccio & Rathod is investigating whether those representations accurately describe the operation of affected devices and whether consumers clearly understood when Amazon Fire TV microphones could remain available while their television screen was off.
Consumers May Have Experienced:
- Owning a Amazon Fire TV Cube or Amazon Fire TV television with hands-free Alexa;
- Using Alexa while the television screen was off;
- Believing the device stopped listening when the television was turned off;
- Using the microphone-off button or switch to disable microphone functionality;
- Finding voice recordings associated with Fire TV in their Alexa account; or
- Being unaware that microphone-equipped Fire TV hardware could remain available for voice activation while the screen was off.
Potential Claims May Include:
- False or misleading representations concerning microphone controls;
- Unauthorized or inadequately disclosed audio collection;
- Invasion of privacy;
- Violations of applicable wiretapping or eavesdropping laws;
- Unfair or deceptive trade practices; and
- Violations of applicable state privacy laws.
Signs You May Be Affected:
- You own or previously owned a Amazon Fire TV Cube or microphone-equipped Fire TV television;
- You enabled hands-free Alexa;
- You used the device while the television screen was off;
- You believed turning off the television also disabled its microphones;
- You used the microphone-off control because you expected it to completely disable microphone recording; or
- You have Alexa voice-history records associated with your Fire TV device.
If you have encountered these issues, we would like to hear from you. Please complete the contact form on this page, send us an email at [email protected], or give us a call.