06 Jan Trust Incident Amazon
Case Author
Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Anthropic, ChatGPT o1 for model constructs and cues, peer-reviewed by ChatGPT 4o, Open AI.
Date Of Creation
15.02.2025
Incident Summary
In 2019, Amazon Ring faced severe privacy concerns when unauthorized employees accessed customer video feeds, compromising user privacy and trust. The incident revealed inadequate internal controls and third-party data sharing practices. Addendum: Expand to explicitly mention internal employee access to customer video feeds.
Ai Case Flag
AI
Name Of The Affected Entity
Amazon
Brand Evaluation
5
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Industry
Technology & Social Media
Year Of Incident
2019
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Key Trigger
Reports of unauthorized employee access to customer video feeds and discovery of extensive third-party tracking in Ring mobile app
Detailed Description Of What Happened
The incident began with reports that Ring employees had improper access to customer video feeds. Further investigation by EFF revealed the Ring app contained undisclosed third-party trackers sending out customer data. Ring employees could access video feeds from customer cameras, with some reportedly using this access to spy on customers. The situation was exacerbated by Ring inadequate security controls and lack of transparency about data sharing practices. Addendum: Expand on internal data policies and their failure to prevent this misuse.
Primary Trust Violation Type
Integrity-Based
Secondary Trust Violation Type
Competence-Based
Analytics Ai Failure Type
Privacy
Ai Risk Affected By The Incident
Consumer Rights, Unethical Testing
Capability Reputation Evaluation
4
Capability Reputation Rationales
Before the incident, Ring was viewed as a technological leader in smart home security, with strong product innovation and market presence. The company demonstrated significant expertise in video processing, mobile app development, and cloud services.
Character Reputation Evaluation
3
Character Reputation Rationales
The incident revealed systemic issues with privacy protection and data handling practices. Ring approach to employee access controls and third-party data sharing showed concerning gaps in ethical oversight.
Reputation Financial Damage
The incident led to significant reputational damage, multiple lawsuits, and increased regulatory scrutiny. Consumer trust was severely impacted, though precise financial impact is difficult to isolate due to Ring being part of Amazon. Addendum: Correct, but financial losses should also be quantified if available.
Severity Of Incident
4
Company Immediate Action
Ring implemented stricter access controls, enhanced security measures, and revised their privacy policies. They also launched a new Control Center for user privacy settings.
Response Effectiveness
The response was partially effective. While technical measures improved security, trust recovery was hampered by initial defensive stance and delayed acknowledgment of issues. Addendum: Correct, but could also note ongoing regulatory scrutiny and class-action lawsuits.
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Model L1 Elements Affected By Incident
Reciprocity, Brand, Social Adaptor, Social Protector
Reciprocity Model L2 Cues
Accountability & Liability, Error & Breach Handling
Brand Model L2 Cues
Brand Image & Reputation
Social Adaptor Model L2 Cues
Data Security & Secure Storage, Compliance & Regulatory Features
Social Protector Model L2 Cues
Media Coverage & Press Mentions
Response Strategy Chosen
Reparations & Corrective Action, Partial Apology
Mitigation Strategy
Ring implemented technical fixes and policy changes while maintaining some defensive positioning. The response included new privacy features but initially downplayed the severity of the issues. Addendum: Accurate, though additional legal and regulatory scrutiny should be noted.
Model L1 Elements Of Choice For Mitigation
Reciprocity, Social Adaptor
L2 Cues Used For Mitigation
Accountability & Liability, Data Security & Secure Storage
Further References
https://www.forbes.com/sites/marcochiappetta/2020/01/28/the-ring-doorbell-app-is-sending-your-data-to-third-parties-new-eff-findings-show/, https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-owned-ring-gives-facebook-google-user-data-study-2020-1,https://gizmodo.com/ring-app-shares-personal-data-with-facebook-other-unli-1841289093, https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-51281476
Curated
1
The Trust Incident Database is a structured repository designed to document and analyze cases where data analytics or AI failures have led to trust breaches.
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