12 votes

Thermostats, locks and lights: Digital tools of domestic abuse

12 comments

  1. [4]
    Elijah
    Link
    (Representative quote, because bare links suck.) This all appears to be spousal abuse here, mostly men exercising remote control capabilities of connected devices to torment. I bet that it won't...

    (Representative quote, because bare links suck.)

    Muneerah Budhwani, who takes calls at the National Domestic Violence Hotline, said she started hearing stories about smart homes in abuse situations last winter. “Callers have said the abusers were monitoring and controlling them remotely through the smart home appliances and the smart home system,” she said.

    Graciela Rodriguez, who runs a 30-bed emergency shelter at the Center for Domestic Peace in San Rafael, Calif., said some people had recently come in with tales of “the crazy-making things” like thermostats suddenly kicking up to 100 degrees or smart speakers turning on blasting music.

    “They feel like they’re losing control of their home,” she said. “After they spend a few days here, they realize they were being abused.”

    This all appears to be spousal abuse here, mostly men exercising remote control capabilities of connected devices to torment. I bet that it won't stop there. Landlords wanting to get rid of renters, former owners (particularly if evicted), just general creepy tech installers, etc.

    Ugh, people are shitty.

    8 votes
    1. [3]
      Tetizeraz
      Link Parent
      What do you mean about landlords wanting to evict renters? I imagine it would be easier for the renters to "yank" the devices out in this kind of situation (unless they're also using "smart...

      What do you mean about landlords wanting to evict renters? I imagine it would be easier for the renters to "yank" the devices out in this kind of situation (unless they're also using "smart doors", which is another creepy thing).

      1. Luna
        Link Parent
        Probably try to make it unbearable so they'll leave. However, if they do this repeatedly you might be able to sue the landlord to break lease without peanlty, depending on your state's laws. That...

        Probably try to make it unbearable so they'll leave. However, if they do this repeatedly you might be able to sue the landlord to break lease without peanlty, depending on your state's laws.

        it would be easier for the renters to "yank" the devices out

        That would come out of the deposit.

        unless they're also using "smart doors"

        If the landlord locks you out, you can usually call the landlord, and if they don't respond, leave a message, call a locksmith, and bill them (and you'll have to give them a copy of the key afterwards if the lock is changed). If you're referring to the landlord entering without warning/consent, they can do this for emergencies (water pipe burst, gas leak, etc), otherwise it all comes down to state law and what your lease states is required for notice (if anything). It might be 1 week in advance, it could be taping a sign to your door the day before. If they violate this, your recourse is to take it up with your tenant rights board (if your city/state has one) or sue to break lease without peanlty. If they just barge in to intimidate you and give no notice and won't leave, call the police and say someone has broke into your house.

        1 vote
      2. Elijah
        Link Parent
        In particular I'm thinking about lights and thermostats that can be made to "seem" flakey to drive people crazy. (Annoyed, frustrated crazy, not insane.)

        In particular I'm thinking about lights and thermostats that can be made to "seem" flakey to drive people crazy. (Annoyed, frustrated crazy, not insane.)

        1 vote
  2. [2]
    Reasonable_Doubt
    Link
    Ooh, this part is super important. It seems like we're getting dangerously close to having laws that are woefully behind our technological advances.

    Advocates are beginning to educate emergency responders that when people get restraining orders, they need to ask the judge to include all smart home device accounts known and unknown to victims.

    Ooh, this part is super important. It seems like we're getting dangerously close to having laws that are woefully behind our technological advances.

    4 votes
    1. teaearlgraycold
      Link Parent
      We're well past that point.

      we're getting dangerously close to having laws that are woefully behind our technological advances

      We're well past that point.

      3 votes
  3. [6]
    Tetizeraz
    Link
    I think the smart home craze is limited to US, some parts of Europe, and China. I don't hear a lot about other countries, and I think only the 1% in Brazil would buy this smart home appliances. In...

    I think the smart home craze is limited to US, some parts of Europe, and China. I don't hear a lot about other countries, and I think only the 1% in Brazil would buy this smart home appliances. In any case, this kind of domination is scary! I mean, people already worry about companies controlling our lives with data, but the people that are the closest with us can be the real abusers of the technology.

    No groups or individuals appear to be tracking the use of internet-connected devices in domestic abuse, because the technology is relatively new, though it is rapidly catching on. In 2017, 29 million homes in the United States had some smart technology, according to a report by McKinsey, which estimated that the number was growing by 31 percent a year.

    1 vote
    1. [5]
      SleepyGary
      Link Parent
      Can't speak for all if Canada but it's pretty popular in my group of friends and family

      Can't speak for all if Canada but it's pretty popular in my group of friends and family

      2 votes
      1. [2]
        spctrvl
        Link Parent
        What's the use case for this stuff if you don't mind my asking? Maybe controlling lights with your phone would be cool, but the rest of it I don't really get. I set the thermostat maybe a couple...

        What's the use case for this stuff if you don't mind my asking? Maybe controlling lights with your phone would be cool, but the rest of it I don't really get. I set the thermostat maybe a couple times a year and internet connected locks sound like a terrible idea.

        2 votes
        1. SleepyGary
          (edited )
          Link Parent
          I like that my thermostat automatically turns itself down when no one is home, I often forget to do that manually, and we have a somewhat erratic schedule for when people are not home since I work...

          I like that my thermostat automatically turns itself down when no one is home, I often forget to do that manually, and we have a somewhat erratic schedule for when people are not home since I work remotely most of the time and she works a compressed week where she gets other Fridays off but often swaps them around with her coworkers. My wife likes it warm so she will override the default temp on her bus ride home so it's at the desired temp when she arrives. Having the connected Fire/CO detection is nice for piece of mind and being able to silence from your phone while cooking is convenient and the voice notification first is feature enough for me over typically alarms. The nest outdoor cam is the best consumer grade security cam I've used the person detection and zone definition is, or was, unique. I use Google home for a house wide sound system and PA, bring able to call everyone to supper is great. I also use it for most of the assistant stuff I'd normally use my phone for but I don't often carry that around in the house. I don't use smart home locks, I agree with you on that one, I just use a code lock and program temp codes for someone if they are looking after my home when I'm gone.

      2. [2]
        Tetizeraz
        Link Parent
        I imagine it's easy because Amazon is also popular in Canada if I'm not mistaken, although Amazon focus on US.

        I imagine it's easy because Amazon is also popular in Canada if I'm not mistaken, although Amazon focus on US.

        1. SleepyGary
          Link Parent
          No one I know use Amazon home automation, it's all Google Home (beat Alexa to market here by almost a year), Nest, Phillips Hue and Weemo

          No one I know use Amazon home automation, it's all Google Home (beat Alexa to market here by almost a year), Nest, Phillips Hue and Weemo