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Apple Watch's Fall Detection Could Get Users Into Legal Trouble (arstechnica.com)
AmiMoJo writes: Apple has released more details about how the Watch 4 will contact emergency services if the watch detects that you've had a hard fall. If the watch detects that the wearer is "immobile for about a minute," it begins a 15-second countdown. After that, the Watch will contact emergency services.
Elizabeth Joh, a law professor at the University of California, Davis, was quick to point out that, by inviting the police into your home, Apple Watch wearers may be opening themselves up to criminal liability. If police are alerted by an Apple Watch of a possible injury, they do not need a warrant to enter a home under the "community caretaking" exception to the Fourth Amendment.
Any evidence of a crime in plain view (e.g. a joint) could land the owner in trouble.
The article notes the "(mostly) opt-in nature" of the service, though one New York-based criminal defense attorney had an even better idea.
He said he "would much prefer a feature that can automatically dial a user-determined contact."
Elizabeth Joh, a law professor at the University of California, Davis, was quick to point out that, by inviting the police into your home, Apple Watch wearers may be opening themselves up to criminal liability. If police are alerted by an Apple Watch of a possible injury, they do not need a warrant to enter a home under the "community caretaking" exception to the Fourth Amendment.
Any evidence of a crime in plain view (e.g. a joint) could land the owner in trouble.
The article notes the "(mostly) opt-in nature" of the service, though one New York-based criminal defense attorney had an even better idea.
He said he "would much prefer a feature that can automatically dial a user-determined contact."
These issues are not newly raised by the watch.
I can only surmise that the reason the watch doesn't ask for voice confirmation before dialing is, they assume the wearer is unconscious. If the wearer wakes up later in the hospital and is enraged about criminal charges for a joint spotted on their table, they have their priorities out of whack.
Likewise if the wearer experiences some head injury or loss of blood pressure and is too delirious to notice and abort the countdown. Probably better off summoning medical personnel.
Of course there is plenty of room for improvement. There's no reason the watch couldn't make a unique beeping sound as it counts down to remind the wearer to disable it. There's no reason it couldn't alert emergency services AND text/email/call a list of contacts. There's no reason not to allow customizations like "slide to call" rather than "slide to cancel", at the wearer's own risk.
And it’s not even mine!
. . . and when the cops knock on your door, the watch answers:
"Dave's, not here, man!"
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
Rayn@RyPatts
So I apparently fell down 627 stairs then stopped moving for over 5 minutes. An ambulance showed up at the house along with my mum who let them in.
Tip: don't wear your new Apple Watch whilst having some alone time. Thanks Apple.
Lesson learned: Don't wear your Apple Watch while masturbating.
technically yes. Because otherwise the people in the room would scatter and NOT call 911, leaving the other person do die. It was decided that saving a life outweighed the other scenarios. But thanks to Carfintanil and something out of China called 'Pink', not even Narcan (Noloxone) is effective from saving the patient. I have no idea why someone decided heroin wasnt strong enough and had to come up with something 100x stronger and 10,000 times stronger. Does it matter that you had to take 2cc of a substance instead of 0.2cc? IMO the mad scientist that made _that_ stuff should bear some responsibility.
A reddit user explained that a while ago (sorry, no link).
It's easier to smuggle that way, of course, but it has (superficial) advantages for the addicted in that it looks to be cheaper and more "manageable".
The downside seems to be that once you're on anything stronger than heroin, there's no easy coming back (getting clean), due to the way these drugs work and how long they stay active. I can't remember the details, but it was a very interesting and equally sobering post.
Windows 2000 - from the guys who brought us edlin