Are Your Headphones Collecting Personal Information?
A lawsuit was filed against Bose Corp, the well-known maker of audiophile equipment including headphones for privacy violations against customers. The complaint, filed in federal court in Chicago, accuses Bose of collecting customer information and selling it for profit to third parties.
The class action lawsuit is seeking millions of dollars from Bose, which has annual sales of over $3.5 billion.
More detail of the case can be found in the Reuters article Bose headphones spy on listeners: lawsuit
Privacy risks are growing well beyond convenience devices. Cars, buildings, phones, medical devices, clothing, and entire smart cities will soon be connected. Our images, voice, walk, what we look at, and listen to may be captured and collated for profit. At some point soon, it will be hard to avoid these data collectors without accepting serious trade-offs. There is a direct relationship between the technology benefits we gain and the risks we inherit.
Slowly, perceptions are changing.
Customers’ expectations of privacy are rising and colliding with evolving technology devices and services. Digital security, physical safety, and personal privacy are rocketing towards becoming important purchase criteria. Companies who maneuver to actively protect these aspects will earn respect, trust, and customer loyalty. Those who fail to take these aspects seriously, will find their brand suffering.
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Big brother is watching you!
Or in this case, it may be the very company you paid hundreds of dollars for their product.
Who can be insured?
And how to make sure which company sold your data?
It is nearly impossible to tell.