EU Lawmakers Ask Jeff Bezos Whether Amazon Spies on Politicians (theguardian.com) 49
A cross-party group of MEPs has written to Amazon's chief executive, Jeff Bezos, demanding information on the online retailer's monitoring of trade union activists and politicians in response to deleted job postings that described unions as "threats." From a report: The letter, from 37 members of the European parliament, said they were concerned Amazon deliberately targeted workers seeking to organise, and also questioned whether the company had "spied" on politicians. Trade unions last week called for a European commission investigation into whether Amazon's monitoring of workers was legal, after two job posts on the US company's website advertised "intelligence analyst" roles that referred to "labor organizing threats against the company." The advertisements, aimed at candidates with law enforcement or military experience, also mentioned the monitoring of "hostile political leaders." The posts grouped organised labour with hate groups and terrorism, two illegal activities, and listed French and Spanish language skills among the preferred qualifications, suggesting European workers could be targets. Amazon deleted the posts after Vice News first reported on them.
Amazon is way too big to avoid now. (Score:2, Insightful)
If you don't like Amazon's policies, or how they treat their employees, or all the fake stuff they sell, or anything else, stop buying from them. It's that simple.
Easy for you to say, but when Amazon embeds itself into so many areas, it's practically impossible to do in practice.
How many web sites do you visit or apps you use regularly happen to be using AWS on the backend? Would you even know if they were?
How about all those smart TV's being sold now with Alexa built-in?
Take your dog outside for a walk. How many Ring security cameras are watching you from other people's houses?
Even my open source Ubuntu Linux installation came with some Amazon crap built-in. WTF?
Why not just block their IPs? (Score:2)
Everything is easy for us introverted nerds
Re:Once again (Score:5, Insightful)
If you don't like Amazon's policies, or how they treat their employees, or all the fake stuff they sell, or anything else, stop buying from them. It's that simple.
So long as there are people unaware of the conditions or apathetic to another person's suffereing then there will always be people willing to buy. How many people really know how their Nike's are being made in China? How many people are aware that literal slave labor exists in China? Not virtual, literal slave labor.
The "free market" solution requires both perfect information and rational actors to function correctly. Neither of these things actually exist therefore the free market doesn't actually exist. Your simple solution is non-functional because it's based on a fantasy.
Of course Amazon spies on politicians! (Score:5, Interesting)
Amazon spies on EVERYONE. Why would politicians be immune? Maybe you think they don't have any money?
As for the FP, been there, done that. Amazon don't care.
More concretely, I made two purchases from Amazon, with several books in each purchase. That was about 20 years ago. I saw what Amazon was doing with my personal information and I resented Amazon's obvious determination to manipulate me and I never shopped there again.
Obviously my attitude and the collective attitude of all the people like me has not bothered Amazon in any detectable way.
I still think the best solution approach would be to focus on increasing the choices. Tax Amazon heavily precisely because the company is eliminating other choices and reducing everyone's freedom. The path to higher retained earnings would lead to dividing the company into smaller competing companies, each of which would start with the same good ideas (and I'm not denying that Amazon has some). But each of the daughter companies would have true motivation to evolve in new directions. (Not just Amazon, of course, but each excessively dominant company should get the same treatment to encourage choice and increase freedom.)
I might even be motivated to shop with a daughter Amazon company that didn't make me feel like I was being spied on. And I ain't even a politician.
There is NO best solution for N people. (Score:2)
I think you're probably a troll, possibly paid, but I'll go ahead and poke you a question to see if there's a sentient entity there:
Do you think there is a single best solution for any problem in contrast to a most profitable solution?
Then maybe you want to consider the implications of the confusion.
If you're a troll, I bet you can't even figure out what "problem" Amazon claims to solve in the best way.
Re: (Score:2)
Do you think there is a single best solution
How do you evaluate 'best'? What metric do you use?
Economics and price signals seem to be the only thing that has a track record of working well. As long as you properly account for the externalities. In capitalism (free markets) this takes the form of the wisdom of the masses. Socialism failed miserably at efficiently allocating resources by putting smart people in a room and having them come up with a plan.
Critical Theory is just socialism rehashed with the idea tacked on that any attempt to produce a r
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Do you often trip over yourself? Why don't you think about your OWN question. You seem to have looked at the problem, looked harder, and then what? Gave up? Confused yourself? I actually thought of an alternative rewording of the question, but yours is almost as good. And yet...
My new theory is that you're a Libertarian fanatic. Many of them are novelty averse. AKA ineducable. In that case, there's no point in continuing. How dare I introduce two complicated and possibly new ideas in a row?
So I went back to
Re: (Score:2)
Many of them are novelty averse. AKA ineducable.
If by 'novelty averse', you are attempting to shame people into drinking rebranded the Kool-Aide of a failed system then yes, I'm not touching that. But that is because I have an education. From some teachers that escaped these regimes.
Still unable to detect any plausible connection to my first admittedly slightly tongue-in-cheek comment,
You haven't defined 'best solution'. So your comment doesn't parse.
Public masturbation of 736903 (Score:2)
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Hey! Pick on people your own size! (Score:1)
Runamokbot
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The bot has run amok (Score:1)
They are like Trump tweets
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Re: (Score:1)
My new theory is that you're a Libertarian fanatic.
Heh, you troll everybody! Fascinating...
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But this is your "special" troll (Score:1)
Thank you, Mr. Trump
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Your name is TrumpBot (Score:1)
Sounds about right, wouldn't you agree?
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I'll take that as a "yes" (Score:1)
Good to see we're on the same page... thankyouverymuch
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Should it stay or should it go? (Score:1)
Let the audience decide
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Are you winning the debate, Mr. Trump? (Score:1)
Watch out! Somebody's pulling the plug!
Just kidding...
Public masturbation of 1673220 (Score:2)
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Re:Once again (Score:5, Insightful)
You can't complain a company is ... stopping unions from forming while at the same time continuing to purchase goods or services from them
Sure you can.
In every major industrialized country workers have a legally established right to organize unions without retaliation. If Amazon is breaking the law, the the proper recourse is legal.
Re: (Score:2)
In every major industrialized country
China?
Re:Once again (Score:4, Insightful)
Much like how that Guy who says he doesn't need government Assistance, while he drives on Public Roads, a home connected to public utilities, and want to make sure the police will be there if they are bad guys near his home.
This isn't meant to be a political statement, but Large Companies Like Amazon are so embedded into our infrastructure that it isn't so easy to just not buy the stuff, then you think. As you may be indirectly using their products without thinking about it. We may think we are not using Government Assistance, or we are Not Giving a Dime to Amazon. But the fact is we are, and would probably take nearly a full time effort to avoid such.
How many stores, may link to Amazon Warehouses, How many sites and business run off of AWS.
Re: (Score:2)
I've been trying that for a couple of months. I purchased some toner from a vendor I used to buy from on Amazon, I purchased directly on the vendor web site and they shipped it from Amazon.
Not so different than Amazon, I've experienced terrible customer service on many sites and from many manufacturers directly.
Its been harder than I thought to avoid Amazon. Its easy to remember why I bought so much from Amazon.
Hm (Score:2)
Any response longer than a simple "no" means yes, yes they do spy.
Re: (Score:3)
Any response longer than a simple "no" means yes, yes they do spy.
I would think that ANY answer, including "NO" is proof of nothing more than the direction the political winds are blowing.
In short, if they say "no" I'm not going to be inclined to believe them, nor would a "yes" impress me.
Silly question. Of course they spy on people (Score:1)
The intriguing part is, for whom? Besides himself, there are others who need his "services".
We shuold spy on him. Where are all those fancy schmancy "hackers" to break into his accounts and emails?
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Oh how cute. (Score:1)
But it's wrong!
If you have suspicions EU, there are other means to enforce an answer
But it is kind to let him know he's on the list.
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Almost by definition, A public figure has less privacy than a private one.
If such Public Figure has power over people, and can effect lives, than their privacy must be further diminished, as we will need to know that they are indeed working for us, and not against us.
If a random guy at the end of the day goes home, and goes onto some rant on all the people he hates and wishes would die, and was found out. His privacy should be protected, because what he says and does in private is up to him, and his family.
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Short version:
Power and privacy must be inversely related
Of course (Score:2)
Let me help Bezos out...not that he needs my help! (Score:2)
Amazon only does what is [clearly] outlined in its terms and conditions for everyone that uses its services.
Amazon does not distinguish between users except for demographic information that they (the users) freely allow Amazon to utilize.
Whether Amazon's actions constitute spying or not, will be left to the interpretation of the reader, of its terms and conditions of service or the user
of its services.
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These aren't people using their services. This is Amazon trying to hire employees for internal work spying illegally.
The tech megacorps need to be taken apart, unless you want to live in Amazonia or Googlestan.
Spying on civil servants? (Score:2)
Why would they have to?
They can learn everything they want by just asking for a copy of the public reports.
Doh! Really? (Score:2)
Amazon spies on everyone all the time.
That's been obvious for years and years.
Dumb and dumber. That's the politicians.
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Business as usual is not a valid argument for continuing illegal practices.
Go on ... Ask the wolf if he eats your sheep ... (Score:2)
Ridiculous to the point of harmful intent in the act of conspiring with Bezos as the "good cop"... that's what this is.
EU Lawmakers Ask ... Amazon Spies on Politicians (Score:2)
As as we all know, politicians aren't anywhere near the category of normal people.