First look: Facebook unveils Portal video calling devices for the home with Alexa

That's the blunt response I got from a colleague moments after I started to tell her about Facebook's Portal and Portal, the new voice-controlled, video-calling devices with Amazon's Alexa that Facebook starts taking pre-orders for on Monday. Another colleague was equally skeptical: "Why would I let Facebook have an internet-connected camera in my home?" he asked. Such distrust stems not only from Facebook's most recent revelation that 50 million user accounts were exposed to hackers, but also a prior breach when the social network disclosed that 87 million people had their profiles scraped and improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica, a political ad-targeting firm. And therein lies the public relations challenge facing Facebook as it unleashes consumer hardware that is all about connecting families who may be miles apart. Never mind that Facebook says it has taken steps with Portal that the company claims will ensure user privacy and security.