Chapter 17 Exercises

Exercise 17.1 — Smart Home Device Audit (Individual)

Estimated time: 30–45 minutes Materials: Any devices in your home or apartment, or the home of a family member with their permission

Instructions:

Conduct a privacy audit of the smart home devices in a living space. For each networked device (including smart speakers, baby monitors, cameras, thermostats, smart TVs, game consoles, and smart appliances):

a. Identify the device and manufacturer.

b. Determine what data the device collects. Check the manufacturer's privacy policy (a web search for "[device name] privacy policy" will find it). List the data categories the policy discloses.

c. Determine where the data goes. Does the device store data locally, in the manufacturer's cloud, or both? Is data shared with third parties? Under what conditions?

d. Determine your access rights. Can you request a copy of your data? Delete it? Opt out of certain data collection?

e. Assess the security. Has the device's default password been changed? Is firmware kept up to date? Does the device support two-factor authentication for its associated account?

After completing the audit:

  • Write a one-paragraph summary for each device describing its surveillance risk profile.
  • Identify the device in your audit that you believe poses the greatest surveillance risk and explain why.
  • Identify one concrete step you will take to reduce the surveillance risk of one device in your audit.

Reflection: After completing the audit, does your assessment of the privacy risks of your home technology change? What surprised you?

Estimated time: 45–60 minutes Materials: Internet access

Instructions:

Research the nanny cam legal landscape in your state (or a state assigned by your instructor). Specifically:

a. Is your state a one-party or two-party (all-party) consent state for audio recording? What is the specific statute?

b. Are there specific state laws governing hidden cameras in homes? What do they cover?

c. What are the legal requirements for landlords regarding cameras in rental properties in your state?

d. What remedies exist for someone who discovers they have been illegally recorded in a home? Civil? Criminal?

After researching:

Write a one-page legal memo addressed to a hypothetical family in your state who wants to install a hidden nanny cam with audio capability in their living room. The memo should advise them on: - Whether the installation would be legal - What consent, if any, is required - What risks they face if they proceed without the caregiver's knowledge - Whether you would recommend they disclose the camera to the caregiver, and why

Exercise 17.3 — Power Mapping (Small Group)

Estimated time: 40–50 minutes Group size: 3–5 students

Setup: The group will analyze the power relationships in a domestic surveillance scenario using a power mapping exercise.

Scenario: A 32-year-old nanny (Sofia, an immigrant from El Salvador working on a temporary visa) works in the home of a wealthy couple (the Petersons) caring for their two children, ages 3 and 5. The Petersons have installed three cameras in the home: one in the main playroom, one in the kitchen, and one covering the backyard. Sofia was not told about the cameras when she was hired. She discovered them when she noticed a small lens in the playroom's bookshelf.

Instructions:

  1. Create a power map. On a large sheet of paper, draw circles representing: Sofia, the Petersons, the children, the camera manufacturer, and the local police department. Draw arrows indicating surveillance relationships (who can watch whom) and other power relationships (employment, legal authority, data access). Label each arrow with the type of power it represents.

  2. For each party in your map, identify: - What surveillance capabilities do they have? - What surveillance they are subject to? - What legal protections, if any, apply to them? - What choices they can realistically make to change their surveillance position?

  3. As a group, answer: - Who is most powerful in this scenario? Who is least? - Is the surveillance of Sofia legal? Does the legality matter to the ethics? - What would a more equitable surveillance arrangement look like?

  4. Write a 300-word group reflection on what the power map reveals about domestic surveillance relationships.

Exercise 17.4 — Smart Home Security Vulnerability Investigation (Individual)

Estimated time: 45–60 minutes Materials: Internet access

Instructions:

Research a documented baby monitor or smart home device security vulnerability. Use sources such as: - Consumer Reports security coverage - Wired or Ars Technica security reporting - Academic research from IEEE or ACM security publications - Which? (UK consumer organization) smart home security studies

For the vulnerability you select:

a. Describe the device and the vulnerability. What data could an unauthorized party access? How did they access it?

b. Describe the manufacturer's response. Was a patch released? How quickly? Was the vulnerability publicly disclosed?

c. Analyze the incentive structure. Did the manufacturer have an economic incentive to fix the vulnerability quickly? Why or why not? Who bore the cost of the vulnerability?

d. Evaluate the adequacy of the response. Was the manufacturer's response adequate to protect affected users?

e. Propose a regulatory framework. What rules, if adopted, would prevent similar vulnerabilities in the future? Consider: mandatory security standards, disclosure requirements, liability rules, warranty requirements.

Write a 600-word analysis incorporating all five elements.

Exercise 17.5 — Ethical Analysis: The Nanny Cam Debate (Individual, Discussion-Based)

Estimated time: 20 minutes reading/preparation, 30 minutes class discussion This exercise is designed for in-class use.

Reading preparation: Review the following two positions before class.

Position A — The Employer's Perspective: "As parents, we have a legal and moral obligation to ensure the safety of our children. We hire a caregiver to care for them in our home, and we have no way of knowing — without video evidence — whether that care is adequate or abusive. Nanny cams have documented real cases of abuse that resulted in criminal convictions. The cameras are in our own home, in spaces that the caregiver is being paid to be in during working hours. We disclose the cameras in our job posting. We are not recording bedrooms or bathrooms. This is reasonable protection for our children."

Position B — The Worker's Perspective: "I spend eight to ten hours a day in a home that is also my workplace. The parents are not there. In their absence, I am the one managing difficult moments — children's tantrums, accidents, conflicts. If I know I am being filmed, my ability to do my job — which requires judgment, flexibility, and a degree of emotional authenticity — is compromised. More importantly, I never truly agreed to this surveillance. It was in the job posting, yes, but when you need work and the family seems good, you accept conditions you would not accept if you had real bargaining power. The surveillance is real; the consent is not."

Discussion questions:

  1. Both positions make claims about consent. Are these claims equally valid? Apply the "meaningful consent" framework from the chapter.

  2. The employer mentions children's safety. How should children's interests be weighed against the caregiver's privacy interests?

  3. Does visible versus hidden camera status matter ethically? Change anything legally?

  4. What would a genuinely ethical surveillance arrangement for a caregiving situation look like? Draft a three-point policy.