> The risk is rather low if you don't live in a totalitarian state and you don't engage in extremely subversive or criminal activities. And what happens when f

> The risk is rather low if you don't live in a totalitarian state and you don't engage in extremely subversive or criminal activities. And what happens when failing to have an Alexa or equivalent devices becomes an act of subversion or at least suspicion? > Sure, the government could force Amazon to let Echo spy on you. But they could force Apple or Google to do the same thing with your phone I think you'll find this is an argument against Google and Apple handing over data wholesale to the government, not an argument in favour of getting another device that does that same thing too. > The government could also just bug your apartment the old fashioned way. You mean with judicial oversight and at some considerable amount of effort and expense that would make dragnet surveillance unpopular both within and without the government meaning its use would be reserved only for the sorts of activities proponents of surveillance say it would be used for? Yes, I'm okay with the old fashioned way. > The big fear would be that echo is storing audio of your house that a future government could use against you. But there is no indication that Amazon does that. The big fear is that by inviting these amoral entities into our lives they CAN (not will) perform these immoral activities at the request of other parties. It enables it. > Honestly, my google and bing histories are probably a lot more damning. Yet you still submit to the surveillance. Good for you. Not everyone is will to make the same compromises.