Google Eavesdropping Tool Installed on Computers Without Permission

June 23rd, 2015

Via: Guardian:

Privacy campaigners and open source developers are up in arms over the secret installing of Google software which is capable of listening in on conversations held in front of a computer.

First spotted by open source developers, the Chromium browser – the open source basis for Google’s Chrome – began remotely installing audio-snooping code that was capable of listening to users.

It was designed to support Chrome’s new “OK, Google” hotword detection – which makes the computer respond when you talk to it – but was installed, and, some users have claimed, it is activated on computers without their permission.

“Without consent, Google’s code had downloaded a black box of code that – according to itself – had turned on the microphone and was actively listening to your room,” said Rick Falkvinge, the Pirate party founder, in a blog post. “Which means that your computer had been stealth configured to send what was being said in your room to somebody else, to a private company in another country, without your consent or knowledge, an audio transmission triggered by … an unknown and unverifiable set of conditions.”

The feature is installed by default as part of Google’s Chrome browser. But open source advocates are up in arms about it also being installed with the open source variant Chromium, because the listening code is considered to be “black box”, not part of the open source audit process.

“We don’t know and can’t know what this black box does,” said Falkvinge.

One Response to “Google Eavesdropping Tool Installed on Computers Without Permission”

  1. alvinroast says:

    “some users have claimed”?!

    We have a Chromebook that we use primarily for travel. It not only has the microphone enabled by default, the Chromebook lacks the settings options to disable the microphone that the regular Chrome browser includes.

    Yes, I realize my expedient travel tool has a price, but it certainly wasn’t a voluntary choice to opt-in. If I had the option to opt-out, then it wouldn’t have been a secret.

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