Big brother aka Google

[mr_z...@sbcglobal.net]

IBM Outlaws Siri, Worried She Has Loose Lips

• May 22, 2012 | 
• 7:01 pm |
  
• 
  
• If you work for IBM, you can bring your iPhone to work, but forget about using the phone’s voice-activated digital assistant. Siri isn’t welcome on Big Blue’s networks.  The reason? Siri ships everything you say to her to a big data center in Maiden, North Carolina. And the story of what really happens to all of your Siri-launched searches, e-mail messages and inappropriate jokes is a bit of a black box.  IBM CIO Jeanette Horan told MIT’s Technology Review this week that her company has banned Siri outright because, according to the magazine, “The company worries that the spoken queries might be stored somewhere.”  It turns out that Horan is right to worry. In fact, Apple’s iPhone Software License Agreement spells this out: “When you use Siri or Dictation, the things you say will be recorded and sent to Apple in order to convert what you say into text,” Apple says. Siri collects a bunch of other information — names of people from your address book and other unspecified user data, all to help Siri do a better job.  How long does Apple store all of this stuff, and who gets a look at it? Well, the company doesn’t actually say. Again, from the user agreement: “By using Siri or Dictation, you agree and consent to Apple’s and its subsidiaries’ and agents’ transmission, collection, maintenance, processing, and use of this information, including your voice input and User Data, to provide and improve Siri, Dictation, and other Apple products and services.”  Because some of the data that Siri collects can be very personal, the American Civil Liberties Union put out a warning about Siri just a couple of months ago.  Privacy was always a big concern for Siri’s developers, says Edward Wrenbeck, the lead developer of the original Siri iPhone app, which was eventually acquired by Apple. And for corporate users, there are even more potential pitfalls. “Just having it known that you’re at a certain customer’s location might be in violation of a non-disclosure agreement,” he says.  But he agrees that many of the issues raised by Apple’s Siri data handling are similar to those that other internet companies face. “I really don’t think it’s something to worry about,” he says. “People are already doing things on these mobile devices. Maybe Siri makes their life a little bit easier, but it’s not exactly opening up a new avenue that wasn’t there before.”  But other companies have been pressured by privacy groups over the way they store customer data. Google, for example, has come under fire in the past for the way it handles a massive database of user search data. But IBM doesn’t ban Google. An IBM spokesman declined to comment further on the Technology Review story, saying “we prefer to let the story stand on its own,” but there are a couple of important differences between Siri and Google that may have IBM worried: For one, Siri can be used to write e-mails or text messages. So, in theory, Apple could be storing confidential IBM messages. Apple couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.  Another difference: After being dogged by privacy advocates, Google now anonymizes search results — making them difficult, if not impossible, to trace back to an individual user — after nine months.  Maybe if Apple agreed to do something like that, Siri would be welcome over in Armonk, New York.  This story has been updated to include a statement from IBM.
  

Note to Self: Siri Not Just Working for Me, Working Full-Time for Apple, Too

By Nicole Ozer, ACLU of Northern California (Mar 12, 2012 at 10:00 am)

It came as a surprise to some folks at a recent SXSW talk that Apple’s Siri “personal assistant” isn’t just working for us, it’s working full-time for Apple too by sending lots of our personal voice and user info to Apple to stockpile in its databases. Take a peek at Siri’s privacy policy (which, by the way, is pretty difficult to find) and you’ll realize what’s happening behind the scenes.  What info of yours is being collected and how is it being used? When you use Siri, it’s sending your “Voice Input Data” and “User Data” to Apple to be used for a variety of purposes.   Voice Input Data is all the types of data associated with your verbal commands and may also include audio recordings, transcripts of what you said, and related diagnostic data. Apple says this Voice Input Data is being used to process your request and to help Siri better recognize your commands, but it's additionally being used “generally to improve the overall accuracy and performance of Siri and other Apple products and services.”  Siri also collects “User Data” that it says gives it more context for your commands, like what you mean by “Call Dad.” This information can be pretty wide-ranging:

• The names of your address book contacts, their nicknames, and their relationship with you (for example, “my dad”, or “work”)
• Your first name and nickname
• Labels you assign to your email accounts (for example, “My Home Email”)
• Names of songs and playlists in your collection

This data can be really personal, like if you ask Siri, "where is the nearest abortion clinic?" 

And once Voice Input Data and User Data is collected, Apple reserves the right to share it with “Apple’s partners who are providing related services to Apple.” 

Not sure that Siri is worth the serious data it’s collecting and how it might end up getting used? Rather live without Siri? Here’s how to opt out and stop your voice data and user data from continuing to be sent to Apple.  Once you turn off Siri, Apple’s privacy policy says it will delete User Data and any recent Voice Input Data. Though older Voice Input Data that has been already “disassociated” from you and your device may linger for an undisclosed period of time to “improve Siri and other Apple products and services.”  Additional Note to Self: Find out what services like Siri are doing before you start using them. One way to stay informed is to keep up with the ACLU's dotRights digital privacy campaign (you can follow us on Facebook and Twitter). There may be a lot more going on than initially meets the eye.

[Tyrell Berry]

Which part of this Big Brother-ism is on Google's shoulders?  Looks to me that it's all Apple...

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[mr_z...@sbcglobal.net]

On 2012-05-23 22:03, Tyrell Berry wrote:

Which part of this Big Brother-ism is on Google's shoulders?� Looks to me that it's all Apple...

On May 23, 2012 6:48 PM, "mr_z...@sbcglobal.net" <mr_z...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

IBM Outlaws Siri, Worried She Has Loose Lips

• May 22, 2012�|�
• 7:01 pm�|
  
• 
  
• If you work for IBM, you can bring your iPhone to work, but forget about using the phone�s voice-activated digital assistant. Siri isn�t welcome on Big Blue�s networks.� The reason? Siri ships everything you say to her to a big data center in Maiden, North Carolina. And the story of what really happens to all of your Siri-launched searches, e-mail messages and inappropriate jokes is a bit of a black box.� IBM CIO Jeanette Horan told MIT�s Technology Review this week that her company has banned Siri outright because, according to the magazine, �The company worries that the spoken queries might be stored somewhere.�� It turns out that Horan is right to worry. In fact, Apple�s iPhone Software License Agreement spells this out: �When you use Siri or Dictation, the things you say will be recorded and sent to Apple in order to convert what you say into text,� Apple says. Siri collects a bunch of other information � names of people from your address book and other unspecified user data, all to help Siri do a better job.� How long does Apple store all of this stuff, and who gets a look at it? Well, the company doesn�t actually say. Again, from the user agreement: �By using Siri or Dictation, you agree and consent to Apple�s and its subsidiaries� and agents� transmission, collection, maintenance, processing, and use of this information, including your voice input and User Data, to provide and improve Siri, Dictation, and other Apple products and services.�� Because some of the data that Siri collects can be very personal, the American Civil Liberties Union put out a warning about Siri just a couple of months ago.� Privacy was always a big concern for Siri�s developers, says Edward Wrenbeck, the lead developer of the original Siri iPhone app, which was eventually acquired by Apple. And for corporate users, there are even more potential pitfalls. �Just having it known that you�re at a certain customer�s location might be in violation of a non-disclosure agreement,� he says.� But he agrees that many of the issues raised by Apple�s Siri data handling are similar to those that other internet companies face. �I really don�t think it�s something to worry about,� he says. �People are already doing things on these mobile devices. Maybe Siri makes their life a little bit easier, but it�s not exactly opening up a new avenue that wasn�t there before.�� But other companies have been pressured by privacy groups over the way they store customer data. Google, for example, has come under fire in the past for the way it handles a massive database of user search data. But IBM doesn�t ban Google. An IBM spokesman declined to comment further on the Technology Review story, saying �we prefer to let the story stand on its own,� but there are a couple of important differences between Siri and Google that may have IBM worried: For one, Siri can be used to write e-mails or text messages. So, in theory, Apple could be storing confidential IBM messages. Apple couldn�t immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.� Another difference: After being dogged by privacy advocates, Google now anonymizes search results � making them difficult, if not impossible, to trace back to an individual user � after nine months.� Maybe if Apple agreed to do something like that, Siri would be welcome over in Armonk, New York.� This story has been updated to include a statement from IBM.
  

Note to Self: Siri Not Just Working for Me, Working Full-Time for Apple, Too

By Nicole Ozer, ACLU of Northern California (Mar 12, 2012 at 10:00 am)

It came as a surprise to some folks at a recent SXSW talk that Apple�s Siri �personal assistant� isn�t just working for us, it�s working full-time for Apple too by sending lots of our personal voice and user info to Apple to stockpile in its databases. Take a peek at Siri�s privacy policy (which, by the way, is pretty difficult to find) and you�ll realize what�s happening behind the scenes.� What info of yours is being collected and how is it being used? When you use Siri, it�s sending your �Voice Input Data� and �User Data� to Apple to be used for a variety of purposes.�� Voice Input Data is all the types of data associated with your verbal commands and may also include audio recordings, transcripts of what you said, and related diagnostic data. Apple says this Voice Input Data is being used to process your request and to help Siri better recognize your commands, but it's additionally being used �generally to improve the overall accuracy and performance of Siri and other Apple products and services.�� Siri also collects �User Data� that it says gives it more context for your commands, like what you mean by �Call Dad.� This information can be pretty wide-ranging:

• The names of your address book contacts, their nicknames, and their relationship with you (for example, �my dad�, or �work�)

• Your first name and nickname

• Labels you assign to your email accounts (for example, �My Home Email�)

• Names of songs and playlists in your collection

This data can be really personal, like if you ask Siri, "where is the nearest abortion clinic?"�

And once Voice Input Data and User Data is collected, Apple reserves the right to share it with �Apple�s partners who are providing related services to Apple.��

Not sure that Siri is worth the serious data it�s collecting and how it might end up getting used? Rather live without Siri? Here�s how to opt out and stop your voice data and user data from continuing to be sent to Apple.� Once you turn off Siri, Apple�s privacy policy says it will delete User Data and any recent Voice Input Data. Though older Voice Input Data that has been already �disassociated� from you and your device may linger for an undisclosed period of time to �improve Siri and other Apple products and services.�� Additional Note to Self: Find out what services like Siri are doing before you start using them. One way to stay informed is to keep up with the ACLU's dotRights digital privacy campaign (you can follow us on Facebook and Twitter). There may be a lot more going on than initially meets the eye.

�

Sorry about that I meant Apple.

[Wayne TW]

Thank you for this information.

But, is there a point that you are trying to make? Please, if you want to send out postings please give us your thoughts on the topic too, that way we have a better understanding of: 1. the topic and 2. your thoughts on the matter.

I personally agree with IBM. IBM does have something to worry about or any other business with employees that use the Siri app. Siri may capture bits and pieces that by themselves make no reals sense but if you have more then 30 employees in your business, then those bits and pieces begin to tell a story (welcome to religion :p).

---

From: "mr_z...@sbcglobal.net" <mr_z...@sbcglobal.net>
To: Deborah Rose Rossavik <nord...@gmail.com>; ren...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2012 6:48 PM
Subject: [RLUG] Big brother aka Google

[L. V. Lammert]

On Wed, 23 May 2012, Tyrell Berry wrote:

> Which part of this Big Brother-ism is on Google's shoulders? Looks to me

> that it's all Apple...
>

Not Siri itself [yet], but Google apps do the same thing - once you put
something into "GoogleSpace" you loose all privacy and security.

I DID just notice this week that AVG now has an 'anti tracking' widget
added t the free version.

Lee

[Tyrell Berry]

I don't know how much I mind Google having my info.  They control the entire advertising chain, from the "What ads do I have to display?" to the "This customer might like this product." Yes, they have a boatload of personal info on me, but I feel that I can trust them to keep it to themselves; By controlling the full advertising chain, there's no benefit or motivation to sharing or selling the info to anyone else. 

Apple and Facebook, on the other hand, are less profitable in the advertising space...  And in turn have less loyalty to customer's privacy. 

Still, if I were a major corporation, dealing in corporate secrets, like IBM, I wouldn't trust any of them.  But as an individual, who they can only make money off of selling ads to me, I don't mind giving Google the ability to sell Very Well.