Amazon.com will change its privacy policies again after reaching an agreement with 12 states.
Under the agreement, Amazon will provide heightened protections for consumer data collected under previous privacy policies, will not sell its more than 23 million-name customer database to marketers and will significantly narrow the wording of exceptions to its current privacy policy, according to a statement released by Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly’s office, which led the coalition of states.
The online bookseller, which revamped its privacy policies in 2000, also agreed to provide specific examples of how data was used and what data the company collects on its customers.
"It is extremely important for all companies, especially Internet sellers, to handle consumer data carefully and confidentially," Reilly said in the statement. "It’s equally important for consumers to be informed about how their information is being used."
The inquiry into Amazon.com’s privacy policies was in response to widespread consumer complaints about the policy when it was first released in 2000, the AG’s office said. At the time, the firm said that it would warn customers about what information it shares with other marketers and that, if it was ever acquired, it would transfer that information to the new company. (DIRECT Newsline, Sept. 1, 2000).
Some privacy advocates said the changes needed to be more extensive to fully protect consumer privacy.
Jason Catlett, president and founder of consumer privacy advocacy firm Junkbusters Corp., said that customer’s still will not be able to see all the data kept about them, they won’t be able to delete records and that Amazon maintains that it may sell a division wholesale along with the personal data it promised never to sell.
"Although the changes offer a little more transparency on where data about Amazon’s customers go, Amazon has done nothing about its three gaping privacy holes," Catlett said.
The changes are expected to be implemented during the next several weeks.
Other states involved in the agreement were Arizona, California, Connecticut, Iowa, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Maryland, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Vermont, Wyoming and the District of Columbia.
