According to a new investigation by Wired, employees at e-commerce giant Amazon exploited a broken system to look up celebrities' purchases, among other breaches. Despite Amazon's stated customer-first approach, it appears that business leaders neglected to prioritize the security of their customers' most personal data. Amazon's worldwide customer support staff had access to consumer purchase history, with insufficient protection or oversight to prevent workers from spying.
One former service rep, who requested anonymity, remembered colleagues looking up Kanye West's purchases and movie stars from the Avengers films, even spotting a couple dildos in a celebrity's purchase log. Coworkers looked up exes, girlfriends, and boyfriends, according to other employees. A former customer service manager said, "Everybody, everybody did it." Of course, they weren't intended to.
Finally, accusations that Amazon workers saw seller data in order to build their own goods raised doubts about the company's honesty. Former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos stated during a no-confidence vote in 2020 that staff did not have access to the data, but that he couldn't promise that they wouldn't break the prohibition policy.
Wired's investigation is a deep dive into just how your data might be jeopardized if a big organization mismanages internal access to it or leaves it vulnerable to outsiders. Though Amazon is frequently regarded as one of the most trusted firms in the world, this Wired report raises questions about whether it is deserving of its consumers' faith.