We know that technological developments also have their downsides. For example, critics see a great danger in Amazon’s use of biometric data. The transparent customer could sell more for ten dollars than he would like.
As a child, some have dreamed that when they grow up they could do anything with their thumbprint. That you can travel carefree without ID and wallet, without a driver’s license or health insurance card, because all this data will be stored in the unique grooves of a finger.
In the USA, where the online mail order company Amazon also operates stores, this vision is being worked towards. However, not to fulfill childhood dreams, but to counteract abuse when paying – and at the same time to be able to view the entire purchase history of a customer and thus bring targeted advertising, offers and recommendations to men and women. The so-called palm scan, which was introduced in various Amazon stores in Seattle in February, is now also being tested in New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Texas.
Den Handabdruck in Amazons Cloud
While the idea of a contactless scanning of the handprint when paying during the pandemic seems like a smart idea, caution and skepticism are still advisable, warns the online news portal “TechCrunch”. For example, Amazon’s developments in biometric technology have not always been used legally. For example, the controversial face recognition software that was sold to the police for prosecution led to class action lawsuits claiming the company was violating federal laws that prohibit the use of biometric data without consent.
Amazon now wants to buy permission to use biometric data for ten dollars per person. “The dystopian future of science fiction is happening now. It’s terrifying that Amazon is asking people to sell their bodies,” wrote Albert Fox Cahn, executive director of the New York-based Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, via email to TechCrunch . “And what’s worse, they do it for such a small price.” Amazon does not want to comment on this, said a spokesman for “TechCrunch”.
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