
Amazon finds itself at the center of a legal maelstrom as it faces allegations of secretly tracking and selling consumer data.
Quick Takes
- Amazon is accused in a lawsuit of tracking consumers’ phones without consent.
- The collected data includes sensitive personal details like geolocation and health information.
- A lawsuit seeks $5 billion in damages from Amazon for unauthorized data handling.
- The case raises broader concerns about corporate data handling practices.
Lawsuit Alleges Secret Tracking
A lawsuit filed in San Francisco district court accuses Amazon of using its Amazon Ads SDK embedded in apps to track consumers via their smartphones without consent. The complaint argues this unauthorized practice allows Amazon to access sensitive personal details by collecting timestamped geolocation data. The plaintiff, Felix Kolotinsky, claims Amazon tracked his data with apps like “Speedtest” and “NewsBreak.”
Kolotinsky’s lawsuit, which demands $5 billion in damages, highlights Amazon’s alleged accumulation of precise geolocation and other sensitive information. The case has sparked renewed scrutiny regarding large tech companies’ practices amid broader concerns over digital privacy. Such tracking practices, the lawsuit suggests, breach multiple California laws, including laws against unauthorized computer access.
Amazon accused of secretly tracking shoppers — and selling sensitive data collected through backdoor https://t.co/aXsVp46Z6o pic.twitter.com/Nrlf00kPPl
— New York Post (@nypost) January 29, 2025
Consumer Privacy in Jeopardy?
In pursuing these alleged practices, Amazon is accused of constructing detailed profiles of consumers without their consent. These profiles include sensitive aspects such as religious affiliations, sexual orientation, and health-related data. The exact mechanisms Amazon employed reportedly consisted of using mobile advertising IDs and device fingerprint data to build comprehensive consumer profiles. This type of data collection violates the consumers’ right to privacy, the lawsuit argues.
Amazon has not made any public comment on the lawsuit’s allegations. The tech giant’s silence, however, has not stopped the growing voice of concern among consumers and privacy advocates. These allegations have not just legal but also ethical and societal implications, raising questions on how consumer data is harvested and profited from without explicit consent.
Industry-Wide Implications
The Amazon lawsuit mirrors previous cases like those filed against Allstate in Texas, further highlighting a pattern of alleged unauthorized data collection across industries. As corporations increasingly seek to profit from consumer data, public outcries over consumer privacy maintain momentum.
This litigation underscores the growing demand for stronger data protection regulations. As this case continues its journey through the court system under case number 25-00931 in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, it stands as a reminder of the complex balance between technological innovation and consumer rights.
Sources
- Amazon secretly tracked consumers through their cellphones, lawsuit alleges
- Amazon created software to secretly track location data of consumers via their phones, lawsuit claims
- Amazon accused of secretly tracking shoppers — and selling sensitive data collected through backdoor