Abuse of smart homes | Smart In-Home Technology

Smart home technology being turned into weapons for domestic violence

Shelters and organizations, particularly in the Bay area, are seeing more and more evidence of unintended consequences of these devices

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Technology designed to make life easier at home is being used more and more by domestic abusers.

Shelters, particularly in the Bay Area, have documented an increasing number of cases where security systems, thermostats, music systems and lights – all controlled by a simple smart phone – have been used by the community. one of the spouses to harass the other. the New York Times.

Last winter, Muneerah Budhwani of National Hot Violence Hotline began receiving a number of calls where callers described how "the attackers were monitoring and controlling them remotely via smart home appliances and the system." of smart home. music or by turning the temperatures at home to extreme levels at a distance.

Victims of these technological abuses were unable to regain control of their smart devices or, for those still living with their attackers, chose not to do so because of the escalating threats of violence. Organizations assisting victims of abuse told The Times that some victims end up in psychiatric custody as a result of this type of abuse, as professionals do not believe that home technology can be used to this way. Police and other professionals claim that the use of technology in abusive relationships is not surprising.

"It makes a lot of sense to know what I know about the psychology of domestic violence suspects." Domestic violence is largely a matter of control – people think about physical violence but also about emotional violence. said Zach Perron, the police captain of Palo Alto, at the Times.

A McKinsey report revealed that about 29 million homes use smart technology and that the adoption rate was about 30% per year. [NYT]-Erin Hudson