INTERVIEW: Media reports revealing data sharing by technologies such as smart speakers is positive for the education of both consumers and the industry, pressure group spokesman Martin Botterman (pictured) told Mobile World Live.

In an interview at the Mobile 360 Privacy and Security event, the board member of the Institute for Accountability and Internet Democracy said it was a “good thing” data and privacy issues attracted so much attention.

Commenting specifically on media reports from May revealing a smart speaker had relayed a private conversation about flooring held in someone’s kitchen to their address book, he said: “It makes both service suppliers and citizens aware.”

“It’s not obvious what these things do that combine the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and big data,” he noted, adding the user was lucky the conversation was only about hardwood floors.

“This [publicity] can lead to a better understanding of what we need to take into account, first you should have rules on how you use these things properly. The other thing is within design you take into account the ethical aspects so the user of the device knows what happens with data.”

For the full interview, which includes discussions on wider IoT security and previous problems with artificial intelligence on smart TVs, click here.