[gregmac]

You're saying nobody in Germany uses "ok google" or "hey siri" hotwords? What constitutes an "active microphone"? Is it only when audio data is being recorded or streamed, or is it the mere act of processing audio with any type of software? What if the software is malicious, running in the background and not indicating it's actively recording/streaming/processing all the time?

I'm asking this mostly rhetorically, but just trying to point out that when most things these day are controlled by software that is remotely and automatically updated and installed (including firmware, baseband software, and background apps), it's nearly impossible to say something like "yes, this device has a microphone, but it's not 'listening' right now", let alone define it legally.

[jrs95]

In this case it's probably not a concern because the people using these microphones maliciously are most likely the German and/or U.S. governments.