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Television Facebook Privacy

Facebook Plans Camera-Equipped TV Device, Report Says (cheddar.com) 114

Posted by msmash from the further-expansion dept.
Facebook is developing hardware for the TV, news outlet Cheddar reported Tuesday. From the report: The world's largest social network is building a camera-equipped device that sits atop a TV and allows video calling along with entertainment services like Facebook's YouTube competitor, according to people familiar with the matter. The project, internally codenamed "Ripley," uses the same core technology as Facebook's recently announced Portal video chat device for the home. Portal begins shipping next month and uses A.I. to automatically detect and follow people as they move throughout the frame during a video call. Facebook currently plans to announce project Ripley in the spring of 2019, according to a person with direct knowledge of the project. But the device is still in development and the date could be changed.
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Facebook Plans Camera-Equipped TV Device, Report Says More

Facebook Plans Camera-Equipped TV Device, Report Says

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  • Here comes the telescreen! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Frank Malenfant ( 5456240 ) on Tuesday October 16, 2018 @01:11PM (#57487066)
    1984 was an instruction book after all.

    • 1984 was an instruction book after all.

      To be fair, Star Trek had this too.

      • The one in Star Trek could be turned off. The one in 1984 could not.

        Facebook's telescreen can be "turned off" but it will still be powered on, listening and watching everything in your house. Hey, look at the bright side: they'll be able to identify and label dissidents and troublemakers by hearing your conversations at home. Don't like that the government is harming the working class with globalist policies? Silence, peasant!

        • Star Trek didn't really go into if it was really off. They certainly turned things on remotely whenever they need to.

          According to Blake's 7, it had more nefarious uses in a political context that wasn't shown in Star Trek because they only showed loyalists with cushy jobs.

          I think people should make sure to be in control of their screens, and input devices. Run your own video phone on an open system that you trust. Don't just buy a screen that talks to a network and trust it blindly.

  • Nope (Score:5, Interesting)

    by grasshoppa ( 657393 ) on Tuesday October 16, 2018 @01:13PM (#57487090) Homepage

    When time comes for me to buy a new TV, if I can't find a non-smart, non-camera equipped TV then I'll forgo the purchase.

    Too much nonsense in modern TVs, too much crap I'm being asked to pay for that I don't want.

    • Buy the biggest, dumb computer monitor that you can find.

    • Re:Nope (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 16, 2018 @01:26PM (#57487214)

      I recently bought a Visio TV. I tried keeping it off the network, but it would constantly pester me to set up a network connection for its SmartCast crap. I eventually caved and connected it to my WiFi. Then, one of the first things I did was to give it a static DHCP reservation and set my firewall to block all traffic to and from that IP address. That got rid of the nags, and I'm happily using it as a "dumb" TV paired to an Apple TV.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by sconeu ( 64226 )

        Ooh! Hadn't thought of that! I'll have to remember that when it's time for a new tube.

      • Or buy a cheapie WiFi router on Craigslist for $5, don't connect the Ethernet, and connect the TeeVee to its SSID.

    • I mean, as long as you don't hook it up to the network, it won't make any difference if it's 'smart' or dumb.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Anonymous Coward

        They have their own wifi now. Probably a new feature is going to be actively scanning and beaconing for any possible network egress. Malware ops as a feature is already a thing.

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by Anonymous Coward

          Or another step along that line: 3G chipsets are under a buck in quantity. They can build in their own connectivity, just bypass the customer's networking entirely.

          It's coming.

          • Or another step along that line: 3G chipsets are under a buck in quantity. They can build in their own connectivity, just bypass the customer's networking entirely.

            It's coming.

            Followed by a monthly bill, or bundled contract.

    • I seriously think the next TV I buy will just be a projector. The only way to stay away from all this smart TV nonsense.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by dstyle5 ( 702493 )
      Who wouldn't want Bixby in their TV, Samsung is full of "great" ideas.

    • I bought the only "dumb"-TV I could find in the size I wanted, and it didn't even have a headphone jack!

      It was easy enough to solve with a closed-circuit jack, a little soldering, and a drill.

      It did come with a 3.5mm stereo phone plug on the back, but it is actually a TTL serial input for wired remote control.

      Don't expect the dumb TV to be cheaper, though. The creepy features of a smart-TV have value to the manufacturer, so they're more likely to reduce the price than to increase it.

    • When time comes for me to buy a new TV, if I can't find a non-smart, non-camera equipped TV then I'll forgo the purchase.

      Too much nonsense in modern TVs, too much crap I'm being asked to pay for that I don't want.

      Your post prompts a question: What would FB, et.al do about projectors? A separate spy unit on some wall, or a wide-angle lens looking down?

  • What could go wrong? (Score:3)

    by gander666 ( 723553 ) * on Tuesday October 16, 2018 @01:15PM (#57487106) Homepage
    Srsly, what the actual fuck.

  • ...Can we stop calling them set-top-boxes... I can hardly balance a Bic pen on the top of my TV, let alone any kind of electronic device.

    Also, this is stupid... nobody wants more Facebook in their lives.

  • Awesome, 'cause there's no one I trust more than FB with security, to make sure that camera is never used unknowingly to the owner.

  • No fucking way I spend money on that.
  • 2. TV without a spy cam for The Man.
    3. Phone without a spy cam for The Man.
    4. Car without an "eco" nag feature
    5. Thermostat without a microphone
    6. Car with manual windows
    7. Phone without TCP/IP stack that also has modern 4G connectivity and a easily replaced battery
    8. Apple or M$ desktop OS without an "App Store"
    9. Car without a GPS and camera that will upload to The Man via The Cloud
    10. Computer OS from Apple or M$ without "management" features or a forced upgrade death clock.

    • What would be the point of a phone with 4G but no TCP/IP stack?

      • The ability to use modern cell towers (4G vs 3G) which also gives you lower battery usage, but without the need to worry about the phone being hacked over IP or by crappy applications that depend on TCP/IP and thus create lots (how every many apps you use) of tiny attack surfaces on your phone. I don't want apps. I don't want a phone that can do anything but calls and SMS. To that end, it'd also be nice if the call and SMS log wiped itself after about 12 hours. Haven't seen that feature set anywhere, but i

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by sconeu ( 64226 )

      My phone has an option to turn off cellular data...

      • Cool. I think I've seen that in many phones, but it makes me nervous that it's just a software "option" rather than physically disconnecting something inside. Plus, in one case the phone was still nagging to "upgrade" it's OS even after I turned off cellular data access. Since the transceiver is all commingled with the voice features, I doubt that a kill switch would be an easy feature to make nowadays.

  • What kind of idiot would willingly invite facebook into their home in this fashion? It's bad enough how they have dug in like a horrible, privacy invading tick into out phones and browsers, and now this?

    Fuck off.

  • "Ripley?" (Score:3)

    by Nidi62 ( 1525137 ) on Tuesday October 16, 2018 @01:33PM (#57487286)
    Nuke it from orbit, it's the only way to be sure. And by "it", I mean all of Facebook.

  • spy machine that gets hacked as soon as it's hooked up? uh, no.

  • ... as a cover to get an always-on camera in your living room? How much creepier can facebook get?
  • I say we log off, and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

  • "The project, internally codenamed "Ripley," "

    I guess with that name it has a hidden mother(fucker) inside?

  • And a huge middle finger to you, Facebook.

  • with an available camera for video calls.

    Other than constantly listening to what you are saying, and what you are watching, and the inability to play Netflix, and probably no keyboard, I don't really see anything new here.

    The Revue was pretty good for what it was at the time. It died a horrible screaming death, (due to lack of continued support) along with Google TV.

  • https://i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/... [kym-cdn.com]
    That's about where Zuckerbook is, now, they're hardly even trying to hide the fact that they're spying on everyone and want to do it more.
    What's next, Zuckerbook? Convincing people they should put their sex lives and bathroom visits on Facebook, too? Facebook ankle monitors?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by lgw ( 121541 )

      What's next, Zuckerbook? Convincing people they should put their sex lives and bathroom visits on Facebook, too?

      Don't be silly, that stuff goes on Twitter [penny-arcade.com].

  • Facebook is no longer relevant. The platform is currently being rapidly abandoned while brand toxicity reaches new heights.

    Even if by some miracle they were to produce something completely unmolested by corporate sociopaths devoid of creeptastic stalker malware nobody would trust them enough to care.

  • "Portal begins shipping next month and uses A.I. to automatically detect and follow people as they move throughout the frame during a video call.

    No way this could ever be misused or exploited or hacked or whatever. I mean, if Facebook does it then it must be 100% safe and wholesome, given their incredible, dare I say outstanding track record on privacy and security.

  • I mean, why would anybody buy a device that does the things it says in the summary?
    Even if you paid me money to use it, i still wouldn't.

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