According to various foreign media, including the Guardian, on the 6th (local time), the British consumer protection group “What?” pointed out that “user data collected by China-based air fryer-linked apps of “Aigostar” and “Xiaomi” was transmitted to servers of Chinese companies such as TikTok.”
According to the results of the survey, these apps required users to listen to the conversations when signing up. This included the right to track the location and record the call. At the same time, it informed that the collected data could be passed on to a third party, but there was no explanation of the purpose of using the data.
Xiaomi, one of the companies in question, countered that the group’s investigation was inaccurate. The authority to record user audio on the linked app “Xiaomi Home” does not apply when using an air fryer. However, Aigostar did not disclose its position.
Currently, the British Intelligence Commission (ICO) will announce new regulations on the use of consumer data next spring. The main point is that companies should be transparent about the purpose of collecting user data.
“Currently, smart product manufacturers and partners collect consumer data indiscriminately, and most of them are not transparent,” the organization said. “The new regulations to be applied in the spring will also be strictly applied to foreign companies.”
Until recently, cases of damage caused by Chinese products, which are vulnerable to hacking threats, have occurred frequently in many parts of the world. Prior to this, there was a case in which a personal video of a Chinese IP camera (a camera used by connecting to the wired Internet) filming the interior of a Korean home was leaked through Telegram and other sources.
SOPHIA KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
