Amazon.com was sued by consumers on Wednesday for accusing the retail giant of tracking their movements secretly through their phones and selling collected data.
Amazon embeds thousands of app developers into its apps by providing “backdoor access” to consumers’ phone calls, according to a class action lawsuit proposed in the San Francisco federal court. .
This allegedly allows Amazon to collect massive amounts of time-stamped geolocation data about where consumers live, work, shop and visit, and reveals sensitive information such as religious alliances, sexual orientation and health issues.
“Amazon effectively fingerprints consumers and links a large amount of personal information about them without the knowledge and consent of consumers,” the complaint said.
The complaint was filed by Felix Kolotinsky of San Mateo, California, who said Amazon collected his personal information via the “Speed Testest” app via the phone.
He said Amazon’s actions violated California’s criminal law and state laws against unauthorized computer access and sought unspecified damages for millions of Californians.
Seattle-based Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The plaintiff’s attorney did not immediately respond to requests for other comments.
Individuals and regulators are increasingly complaining that companies are trying to profit from the information they collect without their cell phone consent.
On January 13, Texas sued Allstate for allegedly tracking drivers through mobile phones, using data to raise premiums or deny coverage, and selling data to other insurers.
Allstate said its data collection is in full compliance with all laws and regulations. At least eight similar private lawsuits against Allstate were filed.
The case was Kolotinsky v Amazon.com Inc et al., et al., 25-00931, U.S. District Court in Northern District of California.
©Tech Word News
(This story has not been edited by Tech Word News’s staff and is automatically generated from the joint feed.)
