Ted Cruz warns: Your air fryer spies on you! Introducing a privacy bill to protect consumers from smart tech.
Your ‘Air Fryer is Spying’ on You, Warns Ted Cruz in Introducing Bipartisan Smart Tech Consumer Privacy Bill
Last week, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas made a bold move to protect consumers from potential surveillance by Big Tech. He introduced a bill that aims to inform consumers if their appliances have the capability to monitor them. Cruz believes this legislation is necessary to prevent Big Tech from spying on everyday individuals.
The Informing Consumers about Smart Devices Act, which has already been approved in the House, received support from both Cruz and Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington. The bill cleared the Senate Commerce Committee in March, according to the U.K. Daily Mail.
Cruz sought unanimous consent for the bill to move to the White House for President Joe Biden’s signature. However, Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky objected, arguing that good intentions do not always result in good legislation.
The concern of appliances knowing more about individuals’ habits than they do is not a mere bureaucratic fancy. Bob Vila’s website recently highlighted the potential misuse of even smart refrigerators.
“If you consider that companies want to know all about what you’re buying and using on a day-to-day basis, then a smart refrigerator with an internal camera looking at what you have inside offers a treasure trove of data. Your smart fridge may also be monitoring family conversations that take place while you’re cooking breakfast,” the website noted.
The risk of data theft is also a significant issue. As Microsoft points out, Chinese hackers are already actively stealing data.
Cruz began his speech in favor of the bill by drawing a parallel between his adult life and the cartoons he watched as a child. He referenced “The Jetsons,” a futuristic cartoon set in the year 2062, which depicted a family with advanced technologies that are now becoming a reality.
“Today, internet-connected smart devices are commonly used in American households. Light bulbs, mirrors, air fryers, coffeemakers, trash cans, kitchen faucets, refrigerators, and more are all becoming ‘smart.’ And we’re able to control them with our phones or voice commands. A lot of that is really cool,” Cruz said.
However, Cruz emphasized that many Americans are unaware that these smart devices and appliances often come equipped with cameras and microphones that can record and transmit data without their knowledge.
