Amazon recently struck a $1.7 billion deal to acquire iRobot — the company behind Roomba — and it’s creating worries about data protection. Amazon told Newsy that protecting customer data is “incredibly important” to the company, but privacy advocates say a recent deal to acquire iRobot would give Amazon a huge source of potentially invasive personal data.

…

Antitrust experts also worry that the deal is less about selling Roombas and more about finding ways to surveil the most intimate spaces of our lives for a marketing advantage. Amazon already controls about 56% of the eCommerce market, and this deal could further that reach.

“To have this kind of physical data, which is an element that they don’t currently have … you could really see a future where Alexa is pushing a new couch that fits perfectly in the dimensions of your living room,” said Krista Brown, a senior policy analyst at the American Economic Liberties Project. “Then, they also provide a doctor when they see you getting an air purifier. It just has so many elements that can be kind of abused and help them further entrench their dominance.”