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Associated Press

Facebook is launching the first electronic device to bear its brand, a screen and camera-equipped gadget intended to make video calls easier and more intuitive.
But it is unclear if people will open their homes to an internet-connected camera sold by a company with a questionable track record on protecting user privacy.
Facebook is marketing the device, called Portal, as a way for its more than 2 billion users to chat with one another without having to fuss with positioning and other controls.
The device features a camera that uses artificial intelligence to automatically zoom as people move around during calls.
Facebook will offer Portal in two sizes – a US$199 model with a 10-inch (25.4 cm) horizontal screen and a US$349 “Plus” version with a 15.6-inch (39.6 cm) screen that can switch between vertical or horizontal orientations.

Both models also include an internet-connected speaker that includes Amazon’s voice-activated digital assistant, Alexa. Portal connects calls through Facebook’s Messenger app, meaning that it can connect calls with people who are not using Portal.
Since Echo’s release nearly four years ago, both Google and Apple have followed Amazon in releasing smart speakers designed for use with their other digital services – some of them, at least.
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These speakers can serve as hub-like controllers for “smart” homes as people install appliances, lighting and security systems that can be controlled over the internet.
Portal represents Facebook’s entry into that fray. But pointing an artificially intelligent camera into peoples’ homes could well raise other privacy questions.
“The first thing consumers are going to wonder is ‘how much sensitive data is this collecting about me?’” said John Breyault, vice-president of public policy of telecommunications and fraud at the National Consumers League, a Washington-based consumer advocacy group that has received donations from Facebook and other tech companies.

Earlier this year, Facebook had to acknowledge that as many as 87 million people may have had their data accessed by Cambridge Analytica, a data mining firm that worked for the Trump campaign and aimed to use the data to influence elections.
More recently, Facebook revealed that hackers managed to pierce its security to break into 50 million accounts.
Facebook says it will not “listen to, view or keep the contents ” of video calls, adding that the Portal camera will not use facial recognition or identify people in the video calls.
The device will allow users to disable the camera and microphone with a single tap and to lock it with a numerical passcode. There is also a physical camera cover to prevent recording.
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Portal will not display Facebook ads “at this time,” the company said, although it noted that third-party services such as music streaming might embed their own ads the same way they do on other devices.
“This is going to gain (Facebook) not only a place in the smart home, but also data they may not have been able to collect before or understand before,” said ABI Research analyst Jonathan Collins. This includes people’s location, activities and interests – “all the reasons companies want to get into the home.”


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Facebook

Facebook launches video-call device ‘Portal’ amid data privacy concerns

Facebook’s Portal has a 10-inch horizontal screen. Photo: Facebook via Reuters

This image provided by Facebook shows the company's product called Portal Plus. Facebook is marketing the device as a way for its more than 2 billion users to chat with one another without having to fuss with positioning and other controls. (Facebook via AP)

A smart speaker device by Facebook Inc. called Portal+ is shown in this photo released by Facebook Inc. from Menlo Park, California, U.S., October 5, 2018. Courtesy Facebook Inc./Handout via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.

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File photo of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo: AP

FILE PHOTO: Silhouettes of mobile users are seen next to a screen projection of Facebook logo in this picture illustration taken March 28, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

What next for Facebook and Google, if they don’t break into China?

China, with hundreds of millions of internet users, is the last frontier for American tech giants like Facebook. Photo: AFP

Facebook suspends 400 apps over data concerns after Cambridge Analytica scandal

One such investigation, into an app called myPersonality, resulted in a full ban because the app didn’t cooperate with an audit

Facebook said it has investigated thousands of apps and suspended 400 of them since a developer data leak scandal broke in March. Photo: Bloomberg

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The device comes in two sizes and will include Amazon’s voice-activated digital assistant, Alexa; the device will not display Facebook ads ‘at this time,’ the company said, but third-party services might embed their own ads


The two models will include Amazon’s voice-activated digital assistant, Alexa; the device will not display Facebook ads ‘at this time,’ the company said, but third-party services might embed their own ads.


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