New Facebook Portal TV Seen As A Security Risk

Facebook who are already facing security questions and the use of user data has announced a new “smart video chat” device that connects to a user’s home TV.

The big US Company that is already under investigation in several Countries over data use claims that their new device is designed to take on similar products from Amazon and Google.

Portal TV is a voice-controlled device that can be attached to a users’ TVs to make video calls and stream content.

Last year, the company launched Portal, a smaller device used purely for video chatting. But the latest product will also incorporate video and music streaming services, including Amazon Prime, Spotify, Showtime and CBS All Access.

In addition, Portal TV will feature Amazon’s Alexa smart speaker, which will allow users to make requests activated by saying the phrase “Hey Portal”. It will also feature augmented reality filters for callers.

When questions were raised about security issues Andrew Bosworth, Facebook’s head of virtual reality and augmented reality, said that Facebook will record audio of users’ questions to the smart speaker and send it to a “trained team of reviewers who may review a sample of those to improve voice services for everyone”.

The move reverses a decision by Facebook just weeks ago to halt the human review of recorded voice messages over privacy concerns, following a Bloomberg report that it had been using outside contractors to transcribe certain clips.

Facebook said it had decided to relaunch the process for Portal after adding the ability for users to opt out of having any audio reviewed. All human review of audio clips on its Messenger app is still paused, it said.

About Post Author

David Richards

David Richards has been writing about technology for more than 30 years. A former Fleet Street journalist, he wrote the Award Winning Series on the Federated Ships Painters + Dockers Union for the Bulletin that led to a Royal Commission. He is also a Logie Winner for Outstanding Contribution To TV Journalism with a story called The Werribee Affair. In 1997, he built the largest Australian technology media company and prior to that the third largest PR company that became the foundation company for Ogilvy PR. Today he writes about technology and the impact on both business and consumers.