US e-commerce giant Amazon is facing a proposed class action lawsuit that alleges the company covertly monitored and commercialised the detailed location data of its consumers in California.
The complaint was lodged by Felix Kolotinsky, the lead plaintiff, in a San Francisco federal court. The company is accused of secretly gaining “backdoor access” to users’ phones.
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According to the lawsuit, Amazon has released a software development kit, known as the Amazon Ads SDK, that facilitates unauthorised access to user devices and establishes a direct channel for data acquisition by Amazon and its affiliates.
It is alleged that a substantial number of app developers have integrated this SDK into their applications, enabling Amazon to extract data from users.
The complainant, representing a potential class of affected individuals, asserts that their personal information, including location details, has been tracked by Amazon in contravention of California Penal Codes 638.51 and 502.
The plaintiff further contends that neither they nor any class member consented to Amazon’s collection or monetisation of their sensitive information, and that no option to withdraw from Amazon’s data-gathering activities exists.
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By GlobalDataKolotinsky, both individually and on behalf of the class, has requested a trial by jury and an injunction requiring Amazon to halt all unlawful conduct.
The request also includes an award of liquidated damages, the disgorgement of profits, punitive damages, costs and attorney’s fees, and any other relief the court considers appropriate and just.
Seattle-based Amazon has yet to respond to the allegations.
The lawsuit against Amazon emerges as a growing number of individual cases and regulatory voices raise concerns over corporate practices involving non-consensual data collection from cell phones.
On 13 January 2025, the state of Texas initiated legal proceedings against insurance company Allstate.
In the same month, Amazon’s attempt to shut down an antitrust lawsuit over pricing practices encountered a setback after a presiding judge at the US District Court in Seattle, John Chun, allowed competitor Zulily to move forward with its case.
