Radio industry calls for government protection from smart assistants
23 October 2021 The government is considering introducing legislation to ensure that Amazon and other tech companies do not abuse their growing power over UK airwaves. Millions of Britons have bought voice-controlled devices in recent years, principally Amazon’s Echo and Google’s Assistant. Most are used for listening to audio, with many households using them as replacements for traditional standalone radio sets in kitchens and bedrooms.
British radio broadcasters including the BBC and the main commercial radio groups now fear they have inadvertently handed control over their output to large technology companies who make smart speakers.
