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A24 technology
Tuesday 7 January 2020
CES Gadget Show: Surveillance is in - and in a big way

By MATT O'BRIEN system. If trespassers step
From the face scanner onto your lawn, a camera-
that will check in some at- equipped drone flies out
tendees to the cameras- from its resting place to
everywhere array of digital take a look at them and
products, the CES gadget streams the live video to
show is all-in on surveillance your phone.
technology — whether it Sound like something that
calls it that or not. might guard the lair of a
Nestled in the "smart home" James Bond villain? CEO
and "smart city" showrooms Alex Pachikov says it's actu-
at the sprawling Las Vegas ally less intrusive to neigh-
consumer tech conference bors than your run-of-the-
are devices that see, hear mill doorbell camera, be-
and track the people they cause it's only looking down
encounter. Some of them at your own property.
also analyze their looks and Serious talk about privacy
behavior. The technology protections and regulations
on display includes eyelid- isn't completely absent at
tracking car dashboard CES. The schedule includes
cameras to prevent dis- panel talks connecting pol-
tracted driving and "rapid icymakers with privacy ex-
DNA" kits for identifying a In this Jan. 7, 2019 file photo, the new Door View Cam is on display at the Ring booth before CES ecutives from companies
person from a cheek swab International in Las Vegas. like Apple and Facebook.
sample. Associated Press Venture capitalist Rajeev
All these talking speakers, Chand, who is moderating
doorbell cameras and fit- CES runs Tuesday to Friday to enable end-to-end en- practices that allowed em- one of those panels, said
ness trackers come with the after two days of media cryption, when an array of ployees and contractors to tech companies are get-
promise of making life eas- previews. The annual show- cheaper, but less secure listen to users' audio record- ting better at seeing them-
ier or more fun, but they're case is where big compa- options are available. ings. selves as custodians, not
also potentially powerful nies and startups unveil CES attendees "want to see There's been some push the owners, of user data,
spying tools. And the skep- and promote their latest technology and something back, at least on facial but much more needs to
tics who raise privacy and gadgets, many of them fresh," Yang said. "They're recognition and other sur- be done. "We are probably
security concerns can be infused with microphones, only interested in looking veillance technology from at the first or second inning
easily drowned out in the cameras and artificial intel- at your cameras and what China. Hikvision and iFlytek, for how privacy re-shapes
flashy spectacle of gee- ligence. Though weighted kind of features they have." two Chinese tech compa- the consumer tech indus-
whiz technology. toward the consumer mar- Yang said he's hopeful that nies that showed off their try," said Chand, a partner
"Many, many horrible stories ket, much of what's on dis- "something is changing this artificial intelligence at CES and head of research at
have come out of consum- play may also be useful to year" after a series of pri- 2019, now face U.S. export Wing Venture Capital.
er electronics," said Cindy law enforcement, not to vacy scandals and secu- restrictions because the But even as some U.S. poli-
Cohn, executive director of mention prying employers rity breaches has brought Trump administration says cymakers seek to restrict
the Electronic Frontier Foun- or heavy-handed govern- attention to the dangers the technology has been or ban facial recognition,
dation, who is speaking on ments. of unfettered surveillance used in the repression of the conference is getting
a CES panel about the fu- Marcus Yang, CEO of the technology. And eventu- China's Muslims. its attendees more accus-
ture of internet-connected camera startup Amaryllo, ally, he said, regulators are But China isn't the only tomed to everyday uses of
devices. "It's often about said he's had a difficult likely to step in with security place where the lines have surveillance technology in
hyping the next thing you time persuading customers requirements. blurred between consumer commercial and security
can buy and not consider- to pay more for safeguards Amazon's security camera technology and govern- settings.
ing the trade-offs." such as faster processors division Ring, which is set- ment surveillance opera- Attendees at the gadget
ting up a "Ring House" to tions. Watchful residents of show can use their face to
show off its home devices, American neighborhoods pick up their event badges
has recently had to de- are increasingly encour- for the first time.
fend its safety practices fol- aged by Ring to share their "We're experimenting with
lowing reports of hackers doorbell video footage it," said Gary Shapiro, CEO
breaking into Ring camera with police detectives. And of the Consumer Technol-
systems and harassing chil- device-makers are count- ogy Association, which or-
dren. It's also faced criti- ing on consumers buying ganizes CES.
cism from privacy advo- into ever-more elaborate He dismissed privacy con-
cates and U.S. lawmakers forms of computer vision cerns, saying that attend-
over its growing partner- and other AI technology to ees have a choice.
ships with police. give them peace of mind. "You're opting in," he said.
Ring competitor Wyze Labs, Camera-maker Arlo this "If you want to do it, you'll
an honoree in the CES 2020 week launched its first wire- have an opportunity to do
innovation awards, an- less floodlight camera, with it." Cohn, of EFF, said she
nounced a data breach night vision, a siren, two- plans to skip the face scan-
just after Christmas affect- way audio to converse with ners because she doesn't
ing 2.4 million customers. intruders and an ambient know who has control
And widely used voice as- light sensor to automatical- over the images they col-
sistants made by Google, ly adjust its brightness. An- lect. She said there's only
Amazon and Apple all other company, Sunflower so much that consumers
came under scrutiny in Labs, is using CES to show can do to guard against
2019 for data retention off its "home drone security" misuse.q