THE FSF has begun mentioning this as a high-priority risk/threat a lot more often, as did Richard Stallman, the founder of the FSF. This is a good sign. They need to speak a lot more about people speaking to so-called 'smart' 'speakers' that are actually microphones. More and more devices nowadays come with such 'features' built in. They cannot be disabled or are increasingly made close to impossible to operate without feeding audio.

"We've long wanted to spend more time talking about listening devices rather than to them."We've spoken about this problem routinely for a number of years. A lot more is nowadays known about and also proven regarding those things. We know that they record a lot more than people care to realise, they identify and record non-consenting people (nearby people, visitors, family members), searchable text becomes available and not just military but also police (armed cops who can murder with impunity, domestically) gets access to it -- often without as much as a warrant. Had proper regulation been put in place, not only would such devices be banned; those who spread them would be severely prosecuted.

We've long wanted to spend more time talking about listening devices rather than to them. They're no "gifts"; they actually do great harm to the recipients -- more so than buyers.

Hopefully this year -- as we're planning to do more articles/posts per day -- we'll discuss the atrocities enabled by these consumerist 'fashions'; Daily Links already contain plenty of news reports to that effect. ⬆