CEO Jeff Bezos said that the revision is in part because
Amazon.com is now the parent of many smaller companies that might
be sold or consolidated as part of the company’s growth strategy
and drive towards profitability. He said: “We value the trust our
customers place in us, and we wanted them to have as clear a
picture as possible of what we’re doing and not doing when it comes
to the information they give us.”
The new policy states that while Amazon does not share customer
data with outside third parties now, it does share information
among its own network of companies and on-line partners. The new
policy also removes a feature that allowed customers to limit use
of their information by sending a single e-mail. Instead, it
directs users on disabling cookies used by the site.
In July, the Federal Trade Commission sued Toysmart.com Inc.
when the on-line toy retailer collapsed and then tried to sell
customer data despite promising customers that it would never do
so. Settlement negotiations are continuing.
Amazon.com has denied that the new policy is a response to an
FTC investigation into and lawsuits against market research firm
Alexa that is accused of tracking internet users and forwarding
that information to Amazon.com.
