Why Do Tech Companies Do The Right Thing Only After Getting Caught?

One of the recurring themes with large corporations, particulary tech companies, for the longest time, has been to do the right thing only after getting caught doing something they are really not supposed to.

What is more disappointing is that all the time they were actually doing something wrong, they were building a brand image that preached exactly the opposite. It's like Facebook advertising about how they protect privacy while at the same time selling users' data.

We all know that tech companies have way too much information on their customers because of the very nature of consumer electronics. This is inevitable if we want to enjoy our various devices. But what can happen is that these companies can handle user data with the utmost care and privacy at the centre.

One company that has been touted as doing exactly that is Apple. For a long time now, it has steered itself away from the controversy of tech companies playing fast and loose with their customers data, but recent news has kind of put a dent into that image.

Human Contractors Listen In On Siri Recordings

As we know, everyone has a virtual assistant on their phones. Amazon has Alexa, Google has Google Assistant and Apple has Siri. For our convenience, companies built a hands-free command call feature where we can ask these assistants to do something just by calling out a particular phrase.

While this feature is useful, the devices could also accidentally record user conversations as they are always listening. Also, the conversations people have with these assistants can be listened to by people working at these companies or worse, some third party company.

Amazon and Alexa were reportedly found doing the later which caused some controversy surrounding privacy and now Apple has been found to be doing the same. Apparently, Siri accidentally recorded user conversations, some of which were highly private and personal, including even doctor patient conversations, business deals and even drug deals.

These recordings were then heard by contractors who are assigned to analyse Siri recordings to help make it better by "grading" the conversations. Although the intention here may be to make a service even better, this is a breach of user privacy, something Apple prides itself of providing.

After the news broke out, Apple has halted the program for the time being and will look into making the whole process even more secure and anonymous. Although a good next step, this raises an important questions. Why do these companies only do the right thing only after getting caught? Why do they preach the opposite? Can we trust any tech company anymore?