An e-mail I just received from a knowledgeable person claims that Amazon.com has just revised their privacy policy to provide that it considers customer information, including addresses and credit card information, to be the propery of Amazon.com and it will be selling that information to other companies. I buy a lot from Amazon.com and am not crazy about this idea. I’d like to confirm this and e-mail Amazon and ask them to delete my information from its files. Can anyone confirm if this is true?
Here is the link:
Amazon updated privacy policy.
And NO, I really can’t tell for certain after reading it if it implies or excludes what you are asking.
Amazon did send me an email stating they changed their privacy policy. I didn’t go to the link and read it, but I find it highly unlikely they would sell credit card information.
Firstly, they would lose every single customer.
Second, what company would be buying credit card numbers?
Thirdly, I don’t think VISA or MC would go for that.
OK, I just read the policy and it does not say anything of the sort. What it does say is that they use cookies and they gather any information you give them when visiting their site (such as searches and auction bids) for marketing reasons. But the specifically say they do not sell this information to 3rd parties, only to subsidiaries and business partners. And nowhere does it say they sell credit card information.
What it looks like Amazon is doing, and yes there is so much clutter in the message it’s hard to tell for sure, is saying that they consider your profile and registration information as a company asset that they can do with as they please. No, this does not include your credit card number, but it does include your name, address, preferences (as to what you’ve bought from them), etc. that they can then sell to marketing companies to target you with other crap from other vendors.
I was particularly impressed by the part that says some of Amazon’s subsidiary companies have access to your information and can do with it what they will (read: sell it) without Amazon’s knowledge or consent. It looks like they’re trying to insulate themselves with a very thin layer of denyability. “WE didn’t do anything. It was those evil subsidiaries. Please don’t leave US in screaming droves.”
What it boils down to is Amazon tanked a bundle in the market hiccup this summer and is trying to think of anything and everything it can do to raise its cash flow. I know one thing that won’t be contributing to Amazon’s bottom line from this moment on: My orders.
It looks to me like they’re trying to say that if they spin off chunks of their business (e.g., toys), they will sell the customer info on who bought what toys when along with everything else.
It seems to me that if they are doing this for non-nefarious purposes, the announcement should be loaded with promises of what they will NOT be doing, e.g. selling your information to anyone and everyone without your permission. By not making it clear that they won’t do something, they leave themselves open to the fear that they WILL do it – and chuckle nastily and twirl their mustachios as they do it.
I’m not taking any chances…I’m never ordering from them again unless it’s clarified.
Is it ethical for them to change their privacy policy and have it apply to people who already signed up with them? For future signups, sure. But if I signed up under a previous agreement, can they just unilaterally change it?
“Sure, we told you when you signed up that we’d never sell your name to anyone else. But see, this here’s a NEW agreement which says we will. Tough noogies.”
This agreement is in essence a contract, right? And to alter a contract, it must be agreed upon by both parties, right?
Regardless, I emailed them about a half hour ago and demanded that any and all information about myself be stricken from their records, and that I plan on never buying from them again. Whether it does anything or not isn’t the point, they need the feedback to see how asinine this is.
–Tim
I’ve been a customer of Amazon.com’s for a couple of years now. Always happy with the service, etc. While I agree that the new privacy policy is worded vaguely (and worded vaguely on purpose, I’m sure) I do think that everyone is probably over-reacting. The amount of money gained from selling customer information, behind the customer’s back, is not even close to the amount of money a business would lose by doing so. I currently am the Director, QA and before that was the Manager, Customer Support of a dot com that deals a lot in user information. We are a business out to make money, but even behind closed doors we don’t consider anything that would have repercussions on our user-base.
If anyone is interested, I wrote the following email to Amazon and would be happy to report back their answer.
**I am a long-time customer of Amazon.com and have been happy with the service/products you provide. I have read your new Privacy Policy and am concerned. The new policy is very vague and I would like clarification on a few points.
The section I am most concerned with is:**
*Does Amazon.com Share the Information It Receives?
Information about our customers is an important part of our business, and we are not in the business of telling it to others. We share customer information only with the subsidiaries Amazon.com, Inc., controls and as described below.
Affiliated Businesses We Do Not Control
We work closely with our affiliated businesses, an example of which is drugstore.com, our Health Beauty merchant. In some cases, these businesses operate stores at Amazon.com or sell offerings to you at Amazon.com. In other cases, we operate stores, provide services, or sell product lines jointly with these businesses. You can tell when another business is involved in your transactions, and we share customer information related to those transactions with that business.
Agents
We employ other companies and individuals to perform functions on our behalf. Examples include fulfilling orders, delivering packages, sending postal mail and e-mail, removing repetitive information from customer lists, analyzing data, providing marketing assistance, processing credit card payments, and providing customer service. They have access to personal information needed to perform their functions, but may not use it for other purposes.
Promotional Offers
Sometimes we send offers to selected groups of Amazon.com customers on behalf of other businesses. When we do this, we do not give that business your name and address. If you do not want to receive such offers, please adjust your Customer Communication Preferences.
Business Transfers
As we continue to develop our business, we might sell or buy stores or assets. In such transactions, customer information generally is one of the transferred business assets. Also, in the unlikely event that Amazon.com, Inc., or substantially all of its assets are acquired, customer information will of course be one of the transferred assets.
Protection of Amazon.com and Others
We release account and other personal information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with law; enforce or apply our Conditions of Use and other agreements; or protect the rights, property, or safety of Amazon.com, our users, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for fraud protection and credit risk reduction.
With Your Consent
Other than as set out above, you will receive notice when information about you might go to third parties, and you will have an opportunity to choose not to share the information.*
**Are your subsidiaries prohibited from selling or giving away my personal information, including name, addresses, and credit card information? If they are, what actions do you take if they do, indeed, sell or give away my information?
Are your affiliated businesses prohibited from selling or giving away my personal information, including name, addresses, and credit card information? If they are, what actions do you take if they do, indeed, sell or give away my information?
Are your agents prohibited from selling or giving away my personal information, including name, addresses, and credit card information? If they are, what actions do you take if they do, indeed, sell or give away my information?
In the course of a business transfer, will my credit card information be included in the personal information of mine that will be transferred? Exactly what is included?
Under the “With Your Consent” paragraph you state that I would be given the opportunity to choose not to share my information. Does this mean that if I do not respond to such an opportunity, the default is that my information is given out? You do not require my express consent to disseminate information from me, but rather require express denial of said dissemination?
I would appreciate an expediate answer to these questions and thank you in advance for your time. Please note that I have held the position of Manager, Customer Support before and understand the nuances of answering a customer’s inquiries without actually answering the questions. It would do better for our relationship if I just receive from you the actual answers to these concerns.**
trisha