Amazon class action trimmed over secret Alexa recordings

Amazon class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: A Washington federal judge narrowed a class action lawsuit against Amazon.com Inc.
• Why: The judge ruled that Amazon disclosed the possibility of Alexa devices accidentally recording users’ conversations.
• Where: The Amazon class action lawsuit was filed in Washington federal court.

A Washington federal judge has significantly narrowed a class action lawsuit accusing Amazon of secretly recording Alexa users’ personal conversations.

U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik found that Amazon had disclosed the possibility of accidental device activations and that only some unregistered users had adequately alleged individual wiretap claims.

Judge Lasnik allowed some unregistered users’ individual state and federal wiretap claims to proceed while dismissing the plaintiffs’ class allegations that Amazon engaged in unfair or deceptive conduct under the Washington Consumer Protection Act by misrepresenting how it collects, uses and stores Alexa recordings.

The Amazon class action lawsuit claims the company violated state consumer protection laws by failing to disclose that Alexa-enabled devices are susceptible to “false wakes,” in which they mistakenly detect other sounds as the wake word, and that they record a “split second of audio” before the wake word is spoken.

However, in dismissing this claim, Lasnik found that the alleged conduct could not be considered unfair or deceptive because users were informed during the registration process about the existence of “false wakes,” and the plaintiffs failed to identify any misrepresentations by Amazon regarding how frequently this phenomenon occurs.

Judge also finds Amazon gave adequate notice on Alexa data storage

While Amazon disclosed “how and why false wakes occur” and acknowledged that these instances may happen more frequently “if a member of the household happens to be named Alexa or to drive a Lexus,” there “is no indication” Amazon ever publicly described the frequency of “false wakes,” the judge found.

Lasnik also rejected the plaintiffs’ claim that consumers were not adequately informed that Amazon retains and reviews data from both intentional and unintentional interactions with Alexa, and that it preserves transcripts of “false wakes” even when users request deletion of the recordings.

“Amazon clearly and repeatedly disclosed that it retained audio, interactions and other Alexa data and that it used the data to improve its services,” the judge held.

While Lasnik acknowledged that Amazon’s deletion promises could be misleading, particularly if transcripts of audio recordings were retained despite deletion requests, he stopped short of finding liability.

He also noted that Amazon’s disclosures about how it retains, reviews and uses data from accidental recordings may have deceived consumers for a period of time. However, the judge ultimately concluded there was no evidence that a reasonable jury could find the plaintiffs were harmed by this conduct.

In another Amazon class action lawsuit, an Illinois federal judge certified a class of roughly 1.2 million users of Amazon’s Alexa in a lawsuit alleging the company unlawfully collected their voice data.

What do you think of the judge’s decision to narrow the Amazon class action lawsuit? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by Bradley S. Keller of Byrnes Keller Cromwell LLP; Michael P. Canty, Carol C. Villegas, Guillaume Buell, David Saldamando, Danielle Izzo Mazzeo and Gloria J. Medina of Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP; and Paul J. Geller, Stuart A. Davidson, Mark J. Dearman, Nicolle Brito and Alexander C. Cohen of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP.

The Amazon class action lawsuit is Garner, et al. v. Amazon.com Inc., et al., Case No. 2:21-cv-00750, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

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