Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsLawsuit accuses Amazon of secretly tracking consumers through cellphones (Reuters)
Jan 29 (Reuters) - Amazon.com (AMZN.O)
was sued on Wednesday by consumers who accused the retailing giant of secretly tracking their movements through their cellphones, and selling data it collects.
According to a proposed class action in San Francisco federal court, Amazon obtained "backdoor access" to consumers' phones by providing tens of thousands of app developers with code known as Amazon Ads SDK to be embedded in their apps.
This allegedly enabled Amazon to collect an enormous amount of timestamped geolocation data about where consumers live, work, shop and visit, revealing sensitive information such as religious affiliations, sexual orientations and health concerns.
"
Amazon has effectively fingerprinted consumers and has correlated a vast amount of personal information about them entirely without consumers' knowledge and consent," the complaint said.
The complaint was filed by Felix Kolotinsky of San Mateo, California, who said Amazon collected his personal information through the "Speedtest by Ookla" app on his phone.
He said Amazon's conduct violated California's penal law and a state law against unauthorized computer access, and seeks unspecified damages for millions of Californians.
was sued on Wednesday by consumers who accused the retailing giant of secretly tracking their movements through their cellphones, and selling data it collects.
According to a proposed class action in San Francisco federal court, Amazon obtained "backdoor access" to consumers' phones by providing tens of thousands of app developers with code known as Amazon Ads SDK to be embedded in their apps.
This allegedly enabled Amazon to collect an enormous amount of timestamped geolocation data about where consumers live, work, shop and visit, revealing sensitive information such as religious affiliations, sexual orientations and health concerns.
"
Amazon has effectively fingerprinted consumers and has correlated a vast amount of personal information about them entirely without consumers' knowledge and consent," the complaint said.
The complaint was filed by Felix Kolotinsky of San Mateo, California, who said Amazon collected his personal information through the "Speedtest by Ookla" app on his phone.
He said Amazon's conduct violated California's penal law and a state law against unauthorized computer access, and seeks unspecified damages for millions of Californians.
https://www.reuters.com/legal/lawsuit-accuses-amazon-secretly-tracking-consumers-through-cellphones-2025-01-29/
5 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Lawsuit accuses Amazon of secretly tracking consumers through cellphones (Reuters) (Original Post)
justaprogressive
21 hrs ago
OP
Think. Again.
(20,767 posts)1. No kidding. I'm shocked. Shocked I tellzya.
I certainly hope no other corporations ever did that.
mwmisses4289
(295 posts)2. Of course no other corporation,
seach engine or cell phone provider would ever do such a thing! They value their customers privacy too much to do such a thing!
(Person filing this suit is a little late to the party, don't ya think?)
Think. Again.
(20,767 posts)3. They would never do that!
Excessive amounts of money just isn't that important to them!
Buckeyeblue
(5,759 posts)4. There will come a day when having a cell phone is too much of a liability
LudwigPastorius
(11,421 posts)5. Lex Luthor strikes again.