Nowadays, it’s nearly impossible to avoid the use of technology in daily life.
From using Facebook to catch up with friends and loved ones, to searching for answers to everyday questions on Google, to shopping for groceries online, technology has certainly made life easier.
But at what cost?
Facebook is the social media site most-often featured in the news for some privacy violation or another. https://deepstatejournal.com/2019/03/28/mark-zuckerberg-is-scared-to-death-of-this-move-that-could-cripple-facebook/
Their blatant infringement on their users’ privacy has landed them in hot water several times. https://deepstatejournal.com/2019/08/27/facebooks-privacy-violations-are-not-over-and-all-americans-should-be-afraid/
But now, Amazon may have just proven to be even more dangerous for users.
Amazon has already made headlines with their voice-activated Alexa system being used to spy and gather information on people who use the technology. https://deepstatejournal.com/2019/08/30/the-government-has-an-alarming-new-way-to-spy-on-youand-you-bought-it-for-them/
The online retailer has also fired employees over leaking customer information after taking bribes according to a Wall Street Journal investigation last year.
But shockingly enough, Amazon has a bigger privacy violation to address now.
Amazon is a great resource to purchase millions of products all in one place — and they even ship it to your door in less than two days now.
But in order for them to provide such a wide variety of merchandise, they rely heavily on third-party merchants who frequently use apps that make running their online stores easier.
And therein lies the problem.
Amazon has recently had to crack down on third-party apps that are accessing user data from the online shopping platform.
But it may be too late.
Earlier this year, Amazon emailed their retailers demanding they submit information about which apps they were using to run their online store accounts.
This is supposedly the result of additional security features implemented earlier this year, but so far those security features have not been explicitly laid out.
The online super-store claims to tightly control their platform and sellers on the site, but that hasn’t stopped customer information from being leaked to these third-party apps.
Wired reports:
“Amazon has strict policies and procedures in place to protect our customers’ personal information, and we regularly audit use of our services to ensure compliance,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement. “We also continuously assess and implement new measures when we see opportunity to further strengthen our protections for the use of Amazon data.”
Time will tell if Amazon’s recent crackdowns will protect user information, but for now, buyers beware.
Do you think you’ll continue to shop on Amazon knowing there’s a potentially major privacy issue at hand?
Please tell us in the comments section below.