Editor's note

Last month, an African grey parrot named Rocco was caught making purchases – fruit, ice-cream, light bulbs and a kite – via his owner’s Amazon Alexa voice assistant. As the use of virtual assistants become more common in the home, Mark Giancaspro explores the question of who is legally responsible for footing the bill if someone else makes a purchase using your device. Delving into contract law, he learns that while you might be able to void the transaction if an animal was the culprit, a human impersonator would be more difficult to fight.

Shelley Hepworth

Section Editor: Technology

Top story

If you have voice shopping activated on your voice assistant, anyone in your home could potentially purchase items in your name. Shutterstock

‘Alexa, call my lawyer!’ Are you legally liable if someone makes a purchase using your virtual assistant?

Mark Giancaspro, University of Adelaide

When an African grey parrot named Rocco made purchases via his owner's Amazon Alexa voice assistant, it raised questions about who was legally responsible for footing the bill.

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