Footage From Amazon's In-Van Surveillance Cameras Is Leaking Online (vice.com) 25
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: A phone-recorded video posted to Reddit shows a wooden desk strewn with various office supplies. On a monitor on the desk, a video begins to play: an Amazon delivery driver, being recorded by a driver-facing camera in their van, leans out of their window to talk to a customer. Though the video is cute, the setup is not: The camera's AI tracks their movements, surrounding them with a bright green box. Below them on the monitor's screen, a yellow line marks the length of the clip sent to the driver's dispatcher. Above them sits a timecode and a speed marker of "0 MPH." The driver opens their door, and moments later, a small French bulldog leaps into the van, tail wagging. The driver is delighted. The person behind the camera laughs a little. [...] The desk set-up looks consistent with that of an Amazon delivery service partner (DSP), the small-business contractors responsible for Amazon's door-to-door deliveries. The DSPs usually operate out of Amazon delivery warehouses, where they are given a desk like the one in the video, in a small area of the warehouse, out of which they select routes, dispatch drivers, and monitor their actions on the road with the help of the cameras.
The video is one of a slew of in-van surveillance videos recently posted to Reddit, a phenomenon which hasn't frequently been seen on the site before. Over the past two weeks, many users in the Amazon delivery service partner drivers subreddit (r/AmazonDSPDrivers) have shared video footage from the cameras, either directly or by recording it on their phone from a monitor within the warehouse. It is clear that many of the videos are not being posted by the subject of the video themselves, and highlights the fact that Amazon drivers, who already have incredibly difficult jobs, are being monitored at all times.
When Motherboard first wrote about the "Biometric Consent" form drivers had to sign that allows them to be monitored while on the job, Amazon insisted that the program was about safety only, and that workers shouldn't be worried about their privacy: "Don't believe the self-interested critics who claim these cameras are intended for anything other than safety," a spokesperson told us at the time. But this video, and a rash of others that have recently become public, shows that access to the camera feeds is being abused. [...] It's not clear why there has been a sudden spate of videos being posted publicly. One current Amazon delivery driver said that the drivers themselves did not have access to the videos -- only Amazon, Netradyne, and the relevant DSPs did.
The video is one of a slew of in-van surveillance videos recently posted to Reddit, a phenomenon which hasn't frequently been seen on the site before. Over the past two weeks, many users in the Amazon delivery service partner drivers subreddit (r/AmazonDSPDrivers) have shared video footage from the cameras, either directly or by recording it on their phone from a monitor within the warehouse. It is clear that many of the videos are not being posted by the subject of the video themselves, and highlights the fact that Amazon drivers, who already have incredibly difficult jobs, are being monitored at all times.
When Motherboard first wrote about the "Biometric Consent" form drivers had to sign that allows them to be monitored while on the job, Amazon insisted that the program was about safety only, and that workers shouldn't be worried about their privacy: "Don't believe the self-interested critics who claim these cameras are intended for anything other than safety," a spokesperson told us at the time. But this video, and a rash of others that have recently become public, shows that access to the camera feeds is being abused. [...] It's not clear why there has been a sudden spate of videos being posted publicly. One current Amazon delivery driver said that the drivers themselves did not have access to the videos -- only Amazon, Netradyne, and the relevant DSPs did.
so Amazon has so much control that they can't hide (Score:3)
so Amazon has so much control that they can't hide behind an DSP? and in the case of say an really bad crash will an court be able to use this to say that amazon needs to pay up.
Re: (Score:1)
A Dog Suspicion Pile? A Danged Super Poop? What?
Re: (Score:3)
TFS told you:
The desk set-up looks consistent with that of an Amazon delivery service partner (DSP), the small-business contractors responsible for Amazon's door-to-door deliveries.
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Oh, sorry!
Coming soon... (Score:5, Funny)
"America's Hottest Amazon Drivers Pissing In Bottles!"
I mean, what are you gonna do? The writers and AFTRA/SAG are on strike!
strike like UPS drivers! (Score:2)
strike like UPS drivers!
Re: (Score:2)
Oh Brave New World (Score:4, Insightful)
That has such technology in it!
Balance of Terror (Score:2)
Re: Balance of Terror (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:1)
But one group has more goatees. Careful.
Re: (Score:2)
What would Star Trek have to do with this?
leaks surveill YOU! (Score:3, Funny)
Privacy... (Score:5, Insightful)
I also have access to lots of private information. I have to because it is my work. I have to ensure the privacy of the data that I'm working with. If I am malicious I could post everything online.
But I won't. Apart from being unethical, I'm sure I would lose my job.
IF you record this kind of footage (for safety only), there is not much you can do preventing malicous employees of leaking these videos. Fire the person who did this. Show people that this kind of actions are not tolerated.
Re:Privacy... (Score:5, Insightful)
As a gigantic business (shared responsibility is no responsibility!) I think I'm safe in assuming that the only "safety" they're concerned about is their bottom line. If a driver fucks up it could potentially cost Amazon a lot of money. If said driver is monitored non-stop, are they less likely to fuck up? Amazon and their partners seem to think so. This is about mitigating reputational and financial risk.
It's not the unauthorised spread of the videos that's the problem, it's the fact they exist that's the problem. The people sharing these videos are bringing attention to something that people should be paying attention to; the creep and normalisation of workplace surveillance.
Re:Privacy... (Score:5, Interesting)
I can tell you most commercial vehicles are camera equipped - at least ones not owned and operated by an individual (i.e., this includes most small commercial vehicles and trucks, to fleet owned semis).
Many reasons for it - many include GPS as well for tracking purposes. Depending on the model, some have the ability to report their video and positioning "live", while others may only report their current GPS position, and others require taking the memory card out and swapping it.
Cameras have been around long enough that many times, the cameras are already embedded in the truck. Garbage trucks for example include many cameras for front facing, back facing, driver/cabin cameras, as well as cameras pointing to the garbage inlet and others. Some are revealed on inside screens for safety purposes while others are recorded in case someone says something is missing.
The live feed cameras usually record to an onboard SD card, sending video and such only when requested - I don't believe any system uploads all video all the time.
Some cameras incorporate AI systems to "tag" events as well, and depending on the event, it may be reported immediately or just tagged for later upload (these often have WiFi or similar so when the truck is driven back to base, the camera can connect and upload the video to the server). But even with AI, all include vehicle data like speed, engine RPM and such.
I think the only vehicles that likely may not have cameras would be government owned for various reasons. But if its private sector, you can bet there are cameras all around recording everything.
Just Sayin'... (Score:3, Interesting)
I wouldn't approve of murdering the people who came up with, implemented and signed off on this kind of surveillance, but I might contribute to the defense fund of anyone accused of such a crime.
Dave Eggers The Circle (Score:2)
does an interesting job of speculating where this kind of shit may be going, a bit of a frog in the slowing boiling water analogy. I'm referring to the book, the movie (which I haven't seen) looks like crap.
I object to friendly, personable, Amazon drivers (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Boycott Amazon (Score:2)
They treat their workers miserably. They're churning out low-quality products by design [nymag.com], so you keep buying more low-quality junk and feeding the landfills. Meanwhile, their pricing model drives better-quality manufacturers and local retailers out of business.
My family hasn't ordered anything from Amazon in over a year and we haven't looked back. I don't see any good reason for the rest of the world not to do the same thing.