RantCrush Top 5: July 27, 2017

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Is your Roomba spying on you? Maybe. High-end versions of the little robot vacuum collect data as they clean your house, and map out floor plans. That data is owned by the company that produces the Roombas, iRobot (no relation to the Will Smith movie). Apparently, iRobot is considering selling that info. Colin Angle, chief executive of iRobot, has said that there isn’t a sale currently on the table, but reports indicate that companies like Apple, Google, and Amazon could be interested.

Why would these companies be interested in your Roomba data? As targeted advertising gets more and more intense, information about what items you don’t have in your house could be helpful. It also could help companies glean a homeowner’s income level. But this news has also revealed serious privacy concerns–does anyone really want their vacuum spying on them?

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Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.