Comment by randomdrake | Hacker News Reader

Comment by randomdrake | Hacker News Reader

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The time for regulating data collection for minors at a Federal level is now[1]. I went to purchase an Amazon Echo a couple of days ago, and was surprised to see the children's version on sale for less than the current Echo Dot. It's currently listed as unavailable[2], perhaps because of the findings explored in this article.

I wouldn't be surprised if they were trying to liquidate.

I think it was $39.95 for the children's version and $49.95 for the regular version.

There were a few pieces of dark UX/UI that hid a couple of very important differentiations that made me nope out.

1. The service automagically came with something called Amazon FreeTime[3]. It's advertised as free everything for your child; books, tv, music, etc. in exchange, of course it would kindly listen and "learn" to offer better things. Nope.

2. The device was last generation's hardware with a nice cover. It wasn't even technologically up to snuff with the current Echo Dot.

Basically I wrote it off as a kid's tracking and advertising device and purchased a regular new one.

Glad my Spidey senses were tingling.

[1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising_to_children#Histor...

[2] - https://www.amazon.com/Echo-Kids-smart-speaker-Alexa/dp/B077...

[3] - https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-FreeTime-Unlimited-Monthly-Sub...

> Basically I wrote it off as a kid's tracking and advertising device and purchased a regular new one. Glad my Spidey senses were tingling.

Do you actually believe the regular one will be much better with respect to tracking and advertising? I have no such confidence. I think they'll just categorize the use and still associate everything they do with children.

I mentioned the second point because it appeared, to me anyway, that this was a separate service aimed specifically at the children's device; separate from my already assessed knowledge of Amazon, AWS, Prime, and their other affiliated (and paid) offerings.

> The time for regulating data collection for minors at a Federal level is now

Are you aware of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)? It was passed in 1998, and this article specifically says that they believe Amazon is in violation of it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children's_Online_Privacy_Prot...

I am.

I guess it wasn't clear that I was also implying there may be something wrong when one of the largest companies in the world can sell ?? number of devices aimed specifically at children, without this regulation being enforced/checked for ?? amount of time.

Either enforcement, or regulation failed. I think we've got a lot of mechanisms for enforcement, as this article is bringing light to the necessity of.

So, perhaps the aforementioned "regulation" is not enough, and properly written regulation that can be enforced with some regularity and haste is required considering this is for children.

Just minors?

Especially minors.

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