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Whether or not a child is at risk from a browser search and result is not relevant to whether or not a child is at risk from a voice assistant search and result
by floatingatoll 5y ago
Whether or not a child is at risk from a browser search and result is not relevant to whether or not a child is at risk from a voice assistant search and result.
They are separate concerns and considering the browser case does not nullify the necessity of considering the voice assistant case.
For example, replace “10-year-old” with “3-year-old” (a simple and effective safety test for potential threat to children) and apply that test to both devices:
A) Could a 3-year-old child be reasonably expected to operate a keyboard-browser search and result interface? Could they be placed into danger by doing so?
B) Could a 3-year-old child be reasonably expected operate a voice assistant search and result interface? Could they be placed into danger by doing so?
The answers to A and B are not the same, because the threat models (to the child) are very different when “can read and type” is not taken for granted, as is implied for a 10-year-old. This is why the US has a safety commission to consider these things: common sense can hide critical threats to children that are invisible and unrecognized by well-meaning adults.
- lawtalkinghuman 5y agoGood thing Amazon have never specifically marketed Alexa devices for kids. Oh, wait. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNdZAgij-K0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNdZAgij-K0
- floatingatoll 5y agoThe question of the day for that video will end up being: “In what ways do they restrict the available voice commands and results to protect children?” And I bet it will be found that their interface allows never-reviewed-by-Amazon content to be read out loud to children, because Amazon loves to externalize human costs.