• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, October 16, 2017

Privacy advocates are calling for a recall of the Google Home Mini due to a design flaw that allows the gadget to secretly record and transmit conversations.

"There is no simple solution that will restore the correct functionality of the device," the Electronic Privacy Information Center, Center for Digital Democracy, Consumer Action, Public Citizen and other advocacy groups say in a letter to Ann Marie Buerkle, chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. "This is a classic manufacturing defect that places consumers at risk."

The letter comes several days after Android Police Editor Artem Russakovskii reported that the Google Home Mini was recording his conversations without his knowledge and transmitting them to Google. The glitch apparently was caused by a flaw in the touch-sensitive panel on top of the device -- originally aimed at allowing users to activate the gadget without first giving a voice command.

Google responded by saying it will permanently disable the functionality of that touch panel. But the advocacy groups say that fix is not adequate. "It is important to underscore that the failure of the Google device stems from the design of the 'touchpad,'" they write. "There is no simple solution that will restore the correct functionality of the device."

The groups add that privacy risks stemming from connected devices are increasing. "Experts in cybersecurity have warned that the United States now confronts the 'Internet of Broken Things,'" they write. "Poor insulation on the power cord of a toaster may lead to a fire in a particular home. But the exploitation of a vulnerability in a network of thermostats or door locks could be staggering."