Amazon hands over Echo data in murder case after suspect’s permission

Amazon has handed over internal data from an Echo speaker to US police after the company initially resisted requesting the data. The speaker’s owner gave permission for the data to be used in a murder case.

According to the Associated Press, the suspect and owner of the Echo speaker has indicated that he has no objection to Amazon sharing the information. The internet company initially resisted requesting the information, because it would violate the privacy rights of its customers.

The US police requested the data from Amazon at the end of December, because the speaker may have contained information about a murder case in which a victim was found in a hot tub of the suspect. An example of this could be a sound recording. The suspect has stated that he is not guilty. Amazon had initially shared the suspect’s account information with the police.

Other smart home products also play a role in the case. For example, data from a water meter showed that 500 liters of water had been used on the night of the murder. Because Amazon no longer opposes requesting the data, this case will not show whether the stored information is protected under American law.