LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – A California consumer alleges Amazon unlawfully records and stores her voice through its Alexa-enabled devices.
Hayley Charmaine Tice, individually and on behalf of a class of similarly situated individuals, filed a complaint on July 17 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against Amazon.com Inc. and A2Z Development Center Inc., alleging violation of the California Invasion of Privacy Act and California Unfair Competition Law, invasion of privacy and unjust enrichment.
The plaintiff alleges her husband purchased and registered an Echo Dot, an Alexa smart device manufactured by Amazon, in 2016. The suit states whenever the plaintiff used the Echo Dot to communicate to Alexa, Amazon recorded her voice and communications and permanently stored those recordings on the server.
The plaintiff alleges she was not aware that her voice was being permanently stored and never consented to the recording, storage or review/analysis of her voice.
The plaintiff is seeking trial by jury, judgment against the defendant, attorneys' fees, court costs and other relief deemed fit, as well as statutory damages. The plaintiff is represented by Conrad B. Stephens of Stephens & Stephens LLP in Santa Maria, California; and Robert K. Shelquist, Rebecca A. Peterson and Michael J. Vanselow of Lockridge Grindal Nauen LLP in Minneapolis.
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California case number 5:19-CV-01311