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A24 TECHNOLOGY
Tuesday 9 OcTOber 2018

Facebook wants people to invite its cameras into their homes

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE and of messages or calls for ad-
BARBARA ORTUTAY vertising purposes and will
AP Technology Writers not do so in the future. Still,
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — there are other, less direct
Facebook is launching the possibilities for the future.
first electronic device to "This is going to gain (Face-
bear its brand, a screen book) not only a place in
and camera-equipped the smart home, but also
gadget intended to make data they may not have
video calls easier and more been able to collect be-
intuitive. fore or understand before,"
But it's unclear if people will said ABI Research analyst
open their homes to an in- Jonathan Collins. This in-
ternet-connected camera cludes people's location,
sold by a company with a activities and interests —
questionable track record "all the reasons companies
on protecting user privacy. want to get into the home."
Facebook is marketing the That said, Facebook says
device, called Portal, as a Portal does not collect any
way for its more than 2 bil- information about peo-
lion users to chat with one ple's home, listening only
another without having to for voice commands. The
fuss with positioning and camera, when enabled,
other controls. The device This image provided by Facebook shows the company's product called Portal Plus. detects people as they
features a camera that Associated Press walk into the room but
uses artificial intelligence does not identify specific
to automatically zoom as are going to wonder is 'how "1984." Others saw the gad- recognition or identify peo- people or record anything
people move around dur- much sensitive data is this get's appeal — but not if it ple in the video calls. The about people's homes, ac-
ing calls. collecting about me?'" said comes from Facebook. device will allow users to cording to Facebook.
Since Echo's release nearly John Breyault, vice presi- It's a particularly trying time disable the camera and Facebook will offer Portal in
four years ago, both Google dent of public policy of for Facebook to release a microphone with a single two sizes — a $199 model
and Apple have followed telecommunications and home camera. Earlier this tap and to lock it with a nu- with a 10-inch horizontal
Amazon in releasing smart fraud at the National Con- year, the company had merical passcode. There's screen and a $349 "Plus"
speakers designed for use sumers League, a Wash- to acknowledge that as also a physical camera version with a 15.6-inch
with their other digital ser- ington-based consumer many as 87 million people cover to prevent recording screen that can switch be-
vices — some of them, at advocacy group that has may have had their data Portal will not display Face- tween vertical or horizontal
least. These speakers can received donations from accessed by Cambridge book ads "at this time," the orientations. Both models
serve as hub-like controllers Facebook and other tech Analytica, a data min- company said, although it also include an internet-
for "smart" homes as people companies. ing firm that worked for noted that third-party ser- connected speaker that
install appliances, lighting On Monday, Twitter us- the Trump campaign and vices such as music stream- features Amazon's voice-
and security systems that ers were quick to point to aimed to use the data to in- ing might embed their own activated digital assistant,
can be controlled over the Facebook's privacy falla- fluence elections. More re- ads the same way they do Alexa. Portal connects calls
internet. cies and what they saw as cently, Facebook revealed on other devices. through Messenger, mean-
Portal represents Face- the company's impudence that hackers managed to The company says Face- ing that it can reach peo-
book's entry into that fray. in asking people to trust pierce its security to break book's privacy policy ap- ple who don't have a Portal
But pointing an artificially it with a camera called into 50 million accounts . plies to Portal, since it uses themselves. And since Mes-
intelligent camera into Portal inside their homes. Facebook says it won't "lis- Messenger for voice and senger can be used with-
peoples' homes could well Some compared it to the ten to, view or keep the video calls. Facebook ex- out a Facebook account,
raise other privacy ques- always-on, always-watch- contents " of video calls, ecutives have repeatedly Portal users won't need a
tions. ing telescreens in George adding that the Portal said that the company Facebook account to use
"The first thing consumers Orwell's dystopian novel camera won't use facial does not use the contents it — only Messenger.q
Social media lights up with SpaceX satellite launch

By AMANDA LEE MYERS and er back at its launch site looking sight was. Some
JOHN ANTCZAK at Vandenberg Air Force speculated it was a comet
LOS ANGELES (AP) — When Base, about 130 miles (209 or an alien aircraft.
SpaceX launched a rock- kilometers) northwest of Los "Something exploded in
et carrying an Argentine Angeles. the sky west of Phoenix,"
Earth-observation satellite The Air Force warned resi- Laura Gadbery wrote on
from California, both the dents on the central Cali- Twitter. "Anyone catch it or
night sky and social media fornia coast they might see know what it was?"
lit up. multiple engine burns by Lloyd Lawrence, another
People as far away as the first stage and hear one user in Phoenix — more than
Phoenix and Sacramento or more sonic booms as it 530 miles (853 kilometers)
posted photos of the Fal- returned. away from the launch site
In this image made from video provided by SpaceX, a SpaceX con 9 rocket's launch and But many were taken by — said he was driving on
Falcon 9 rocket carrying an Argentinian satellite blasts off from
the Vandenberg Air Force Base launch site, about 130 miles (209 return on Sunday night. It surprise when the launch il- Interstate 10 when he saw
kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles on Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018. was the first time SpaceX luminated the sky, wonder- the launch and "couldn't
Associated Press landed a first-stage boost- ing what the otherworldly believe my eyes."q