1 Questions for the Record for Amazon following the July 29, 2020

Amazon

Questions for the Record for Amazon following the July 29, 2020, Hearing of the Subcommittee on

Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law, Committee on the Judiciary

September 4, 2020

Questions from Chairman David Cicilline

1. When and how did you first become aware of any incidents involving Amazon employees

accessing third-party seller data (a) to benefit themselves; and/or (2) in support of Amazon

Retail’s business? Please describe the actions that Amazon has taken to respond to these

incidents since you first became aware Amazon employees were engaging in this type of

conduct.

Amazon first learned about the alleged violations of Amazon’s voluntarily adopted Seller Data

Protection Policy recently reported in The Wall Street Journal from The Wall Street Journal. The

Journal’s reporting conflates product-pricing and top-seller data—both of which are publicly

displayed in Amazon’s store—with the individual seller data protected by Amazon’s Seller Data

Protection Policy. Amazon encourages employees to report any indication of potential lack of

compliance with all internal policies, including the Seller Data Protection Policy, and Amazon

responds appropriately to any such reports.

2. Please describe all audits or analyses of Amazon’s access to third-party seller data conducted

by or on behalf of Amazon within the past five years, and for each audit describe: (a) the

process; (b) goals; (c) reasons for initiating; (d) results or findings; and (e) recommendations,

including whether they were implemented and their effectiveness.

Amazon’s Internal Audit team conducted company-wide audits of compliance with Amazon’s

Seller Data Protection Policy in 2015 and 2018, at the request of counsel. Amazon has

previously produced to the Committee non-privileged material related to these audits. In

addition, internal lawyers regularly interact with employees who work on the private brands

business, answer questions regarding the appropriate use of data as necessary, and regularly

review the private brands business’s data queries for compliance with the Seller Data Protection

Policy.

3. Last year, Nate Sutton testified that “we don’t use individual seller data to directly compete

with them,” and “we do not use [sellers’] individual data when we’re making decisions to

launch private brands.” Is any anonymized data (not linked to any named seller) considered

to be a seller’s “individual data” or “seller-specific”? If yes, please describe the relevant

circumstances.

By definition, “anonymized data” is not “seller-specific” because it does not identify any specific

seller. Amazon’s policy nonetheless prohibits the use of anonymized data, if related to a single

seller, when making decisions to launch private brand products.

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4. How has Amazon chosen to define the terms “aggregate” versus “seller-specific” data in its

Seller Data Protection Policy? Has Amazon ever changed these definitions in any way since

any version of this policy has been in place? If yes, please describe (a) the definitions that

have been used since this policy was put in place; (b) who was responsible for making each

change; and (c) f reason(s) for each change.

Under Amazon’s voluntarily adopted Seller Data Protection Policy, “aggregated data” is data

that is aggregated across multiple third-party sellers and, where available, Amazon’s first-party

sales, and is therefore not specific to an individual seller. It includes data such as aggregate

sales reports at higher levels of generality, for example, concerning a category of products (e.g.,

consumer electronics). Amazon has made no changes to the definition of “aggregated data” in

the Seller Data Protection Policy since voluntarily adopting the policy in 2014. Due to the nature

of aggregated data, the identity of and the particular sales attributed to any particular seller are

not discernible from the aggregated data.

5. Please describe the specific type and level of information third-party sellers can access

regarding views (“glance views”) on their own product listings. For example, do they get

access to the number of views of their overall listings, per product category, and at the ASIN

level? How frequent are the observations they get access to (e.g., monthly, weekly, daily, and

hourly values of glance views)?

Amazon makes relevant information on glance views in Amazon’s store available to third-party

sellers through Seller Central and Brand Registry. Through Seller Central, Amazon provides

product-specific information on the total number of glance views for each of the products for

which a third-party seller has an offer, as well as aggregated glance view information for all

products offered by that seller. Amazon also provides each seller with information regarding

the proportion of product detail page visits for any product for which the seller’s offer is the

featured offer. This information is available for the trailing two years, and sellers can select to

view any period of days (e.g., daily, weekly, or monthly values) within that two-year period. This

data is updated daily, meaning sellers have access to the data for the two-year period up to and

including the preceding day.

6. Please explain the extent to which employees whose job responsibilities are focused on

Amazon Retail’s business (including product category managers) use third-party seller data

(either on an aggregate basis or seller-specific) when deciding on product launches.

Like any other store owner, Amazon uses aggregate data that it collects from sales in Amazon’s

store to improve customers’ experiences and the store’s performance. Employees may use

aggregated data about activities in Amazon’s store consistent with their responsibilities, and

numerous Amazon teams have access to such aggregated data, including teams responsible for

Amazon’s Private Brands business. Like anyone else at Amazon or in the general public,

members of these teams can also visit Amazon’s product detail pages to learn a product’s best

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seller ranking and read customer reviews and star ratings to assess whether a product is selling

well in Amazon’s store.

7. Has Amazon ever designed the Buy Box algorithm to consider profitability to Amazon as a

determining factor in whether to award the Buy Box to itself or to a third-party seller? If yes,

please describe the relevant circumstances, including whether contribution profit or another

measure of profit to Amazon was used.

Amazon does not consider profitability as part of the Featured Merchant Algorithm, which

determines the featured offer on a product's detail page.

8. Does Amazon’s mechanism for awarding the Buy Box vary based on certain criteria (e.g.,

product category, product subcategory, individual or groups of product(s), particular seller

groups, geographic regions, different marketplace websites)? If yes, please describe the

reason(s) and the relevant circumstances.

Amazon’s Featured Merchant Algorithm determines which eligible offer should be featured on a

product’s detail page by considering criteria that experience proves are important to customers,

such as price, delivery speed and cost, Prime eligibility, and seller performance. The relative

importance of these criteria is weighted to allow Amazon to provide the best offer to all of its

customers. There may be multiple featured offers on a product, and there may be no featured

offer if none meets the store’s customer experience standards, such as being priced

competitively.

9. Please describe all studies and analyses conducted by or on behalf of Amazon that assess

Fulfillment by Amazon’s performance relative to other fulfillment options available to Amazon

third-party sellers within the past five years and for each study or analysis describe: (a) the

process; (b) goals; (c) reasons for initiating; (d) results; and (e) findings.

Amazon’s data has consistently shown that customers prefer offers fulfilled using Fulfillment by

Amazon (“FBA”). For example, a Q1 2020 customer survey found a 946 basis point difference in

trust between offers fulfilled using FBA and offers fulfilled by sellers.

Amazon continuously measures its operational performance and has a strong focus on, and

track record of, high quality and timely delivery of orders. To assess comparative performance

between FBA and other fulfillment services, Amazon uses data such as promised delivery speed,

delivery estimate accuracy, customer-cancelled order volume, and service chargeback rates as

metrics for the speed and reliability of shipping.

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10. According to Amazon’s recent 10-Q filing, net sales for third-party seller services increased

from $23 billion in the first six months of 2019 to $32 billion in the first six months of 2020.

Please identify what factors accounted for this 39% increase, including the role of fee

increases for third-party seller services.

The growth in Amazon’s net sales for third-party seller services reflects primarily the growth of

sales by third-party sellers in Amazon’s store. Third-party sellers continue to succeed in

Amazon’s store and now account for approximately 60% of the value of physical items sold in

the store. During the relevant period, Amazon’s referral fees decreased overall, while the

moderate fee increases for Amazon’s fulfillment services were below industry average. The

growth in sales by third-party sellers has continued to outpace the growth by Amazon’s retail

business.

11. Please describe the eligibility, components, and benefits of the Amazon Mom program (now

known as Amazon Family) from September 2010 to the present, including (a) when the

program was open to new members and when it was closed to new members; (b) changes to

the name of the program; (c) changes to discount levels generally or for specific items; (d)

length of free Prime membership; (e) changes to any other benefits included at any time in

the program; and (f) whether you were personally involved in the decision to make any of

these changes.

Amazon launched Amazon Mom in 2010 along with other programs, including Amazon Student,

to focus on attracting key customer groups to Amazon’s store. As with many programs, Amazon

has modified the program benefits over time. The Amazon Mom/Amazon Family program

benefits also have been included as part of other, more expansive Amazon initiatives, such as

Amazon Prime and Subscribe and Save, which themselves have changed over time. Program

benefits have varied from promotional discounts on wipes and diapers, free Prime memberships

and partial Prime memberships, and bigger discounts on orders of various baby items purchased

through the Subscribe and Save program. In 2015, Amazon made the Amazon Mom program

benefits available to all Prime members and renamed the program Amazon Family to more

properly reflect the customer segment Amazon was seeking to attract. Except for a brief,

approximately three-month-long pause of the entire program in 2011–2012, the program has

always been open to all Prime members and free to join.

12. In Amazon’s earnings call on July 30, 2020, Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky said, “Prime

members shop more often with larger basket sizes.” On average, how much more often do

Prime members shop on Amazon than non-Prime members, and how much more do Prime

members spend on Amazon than non-Prime members?

Amazon Prime offers members numerous benefits, including unlimited free shipping on eligible

items, digital streaming video and music, and early access to deals on Amazon.com. These

benefits have evolved over time to deliver ever-greater value to members; for example, while

members were previously offered discounted one-day shipping, members now receive free one-

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day shipping on over ten million products. Due to the nature of these benefits and the freedom

customers have to opt in and out of the program at any time, customers may be more likely to

members in the United States tend to shop more often and spend more per purchase.

Amazon’s audited financial reports do not separately identify Prime-specific customer

expenditures.

13. Please identify (a) the total number of days in 2019 on which Amazon priced Amazon Echo

below-cost; and (b) the percentage of the total number of Amazon Echo speakers sold in 2019

that were sold below-cost.

The costs to produce Amazon’s Echo devices fluctuate during the product lifespans. Amazon

strives to minimize these costs so that it can offer the devices to customers and other retailers

at appealing prices. At all times, Amazon seeks to price the Echo devices as competitively as

possible. These prices can fluctuate, for example, when Amazon seeks to match prices for

competing devices. Like most manufacturers and retailers, Amazon also occasionally offers

deals and promotions on its products—including Echo devices—providing additional value to

customers. Amazon’s audited financial reports do not separately identify revenues and costs for

Echo devices.

14. Please identify (a) the total number of Amazon Retail (first-party products) sold through Alexa

since 2017; and (b) the total number of third-party products sold through Alexa since 2017.

To best serve our customers, Amazon focuses on products that customers are likely to prefer,

regardless of whether the products are sold by Amazon or third-party sellers. Amazon designed

Alexa with this same principle in mind. There are a variety of ways to shop using Alexa, and

Amazon is still in the early stages of learning what is most helpful to customers and designing

tools and features that improve their shopping experience. One popular way Alexa helps

customers, for example, is by suggesting products that customers frequently purchase based on

their past orders, whether those orders are from Amazon or a third-party seller. If a customer

has not purchased an item from Amazon’s store before, Alexa may highlight a highly- rated,

well-priced product. In addition, most Alexa shopping interactions provide product suggestions

customers can review later on their phone or computer. Customers only complete the purchase

of a product suggested by Alexa on Alexa a low, single-digit percent of the time.

Since 2017, the percentage of third-party sales purchased directly through Alexa has more than

doubled, accounting for 45% of all sales made through Alexa this year. This percentage is lower

than overall third-party sales on Amazon (about 58% of physical items), in part because

customers disproportionately use Alexa to order household consumable items (like paper towels

or batteries) for which Amazon’s offers are particularly competitive.

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15. Please describe all instances in which Amazon Web Services (AWS) has created a cloud

offering by forking open source software.

AWS has not created cloud offerings by forking open-source projects. When it launches a

managed service for an open-source project, AWS is making a long-term commitment to

support customers and developers in the community built around that open-source software

(“OSS”). To launch those services, AWS employs the common software engineering practice of

modifying the OSS to adapt it for use within AWS’s services, including by fixing bugs, improving

performance, and integrating with AWS-specific systems. In connection with this, AWS often

contributes those changes to the upstream projects.

These types of changes have not generally been considered a “fork” because forking involves

starting a separate open-source project, based on a pre-existing open-source project’s source

code, which is intended to compete with the original, upstream version. Rather than fork, AWS

strives to keep the OSS in managed services close to the upstream project versions and to

evolve along with the projects because (1) customers want managed services to operate similar

to the upstream projects, and (2) divergence from the upstream projects can make it difficult to

adopt future versions of the OSS and their improvements. Projects where AWS has developed

distributions on top of OSS, like Open Distro for Elasticsearch and Amazon Corretto, add to, not

supplant, the set of capabilities provided by the upstream open-source projects.

Basing Amazon’s managed services on OSS while avoiding forking benefits customers because it

allows them to move between deploying OSS themselves and using managed services for open-

source—relying on AWS’s expertise where managed services work for them, and using and

modifying the OSS if that better suits their needs. It benefits communities because AWS and

customers of managed services have vested interests in the health of the upstream projects,

and therefore often contribute code and financial and operational support to the upstream

projects.

16. When AWS offers open source software as a managed service, which Amazon policies ensure

that new developments are shared back to the open source community?

AWS internal policy encourages AWS teams, including managed service teams, to contribute to

the upstream projects, including the bug fixes and security, compatibility, maintainability,

performance, and feature enhancements that Amazon makes. Although AWS regularly

contributes to upstream projects, AWS’s policies do not require these teams to contribute these

changes in every case for many reasons. In particular, with regard to the changes AWS makes to

improve how OSS operates in the context of AWS’s managed services, OSS communities have

expressed that they are not interested in AWS contributing most of these AWS-specific changes.

By way of example, over the years Amazon has made major financial, operational, and code

contributions to a myriad of open-source projects, including Xen, Linux, KVM, Java, Kubernetes,

Chromium, Robot Operating System, Lucene (which underpins Elasticsearch), Hadoop, Spark,

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and Hive. AWS has also taken a leadership role in important open source projects like s2n,

FreeRTOS, AWS Amplify, Apache MXNet, AWS SageMaker NEO, Firecracker, and Bottlerocket.

When AWS uses or depends on OSS, AWS teams believe in contributing to that software to

ensure the longevity and viability of the open-source projects.

17. Do any Amazon policies prohibit employees from accessing and reading keys in AWS Key

Management Service (KMS)? If yes, (a) have employees ever been disciplined for

inappropriately accessing keys in KMS; and (b) can employees at Amazon access and read the

keys in AWS KMS without explicit approval from the customer storing those keys?

Yes, Amazon policies prohibit employees from accessing and reading customer keys in KMS.

KMS is designed such that customer keys in the service cannot be retrieved in plain text

(unencrypted) form by anybody, including AWS employees.

KMS uses custom-built Hardware Security Modules (“HSMs”). An HSM is a specialized device for

cryptographic key management, and KMS HSMs are validated under the FIPS 140-2 program, a

U.S. federal security standard managed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Customers can use KMS to create a customer key in a KMS HSM for the encryption or decryption

of data. Once this customer key is created, it is immediately encrypted under a different set of

key-encrypting keys (“KEKs”), which were also created in the KMS HSM. The resulting encrypted

customer key is stored outside the KMS HSM. This encrypted customer key cannot be used to

encrypt or decrypt customer data without first being sent to the KMS HSM to be decrypted by

the KEK that exists only in the HSM. Nobody, including AWS employees, can retrieve customer

keys or the KEKs from KMS HSMs in plaintext form. This security control is unique in comparison

to other commercial HSM vendors that may provide an option for a customer to export keys

from their HSM that can be used in plaintext form outside the HSM. KMS offers no such feature.

18. From March 1, 2020 through April 30, 2020, did Amazon at any point designate its own

products as “essential,” while designating competing products as “non-essential,” or

otherwise treat competing products differently from Amazon Retail products? If yes, please

describe the relevant circumstances, including how the average shipping times during this

period compare for the following products: (a) Ring Doorbells, Arlo Doorbells, and Nest

Doorbells; and (b) Fire TV Sticks and Roku Boxes.

No. During the COVID-19 pandemic, and particularly at its outset, Amazon’s fulfillment

operations faced significant challenges, including from social distancing, expanded policies for

leave and voluntary time off, and the over 150 process changes and other health and safety

measures that Amazon implemented for the benefit of its Associates. These challenges required

Amazon to make decisions and take unprecedented steps in a compressed timeframe to be able

to fulfill customer promises. Amazon identified product categories anticipated to be high

priorities for customers during this time, including health and personal safety and work- and

study-at-home products. Amazon prioritized making these categories of products available for

purchase and delivery, while many non-priority products fulfilled via the Amazon Fulfillment

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Network had longer delivery promise times than normal. On March 21, 2020, Amazon first

applied these prioritization decisions to all products in those categories, regardless of brand

owner or whether the items were sold by Amazon or a third party. Amazon had no playbook or

automated tools to make these significant business changes across a catalog of hundreds of

millions of products. After instituting these changes, Amazon became aware that shipments of

certain Amazon devices that did not fall into the priority categories had been inadvertently

included in the list of products with faster delivery promises. This was unintentional. As soon as

Amazon realized this mistake, the company addressed it using the most expeditious means

Amazon had, which was to provide comparable delivery promises for similar third-party

products. Amazon made this change on March 29, 2020.

19. Since March 1, 2020, has Amazon requested that any first-party seller give Amazon priority in

product allocation in response to a COVID-19 supply issue over its competitors? If yes, please

describe the relevant circumstances, including whether Amazon offered any threat or

inducement to obtain priority, the outcome of the request, and the manufacturer(s) and

product(s) at issue.

Amazon has worked hard to obtain allocation of high-priority products to ensure their

availability for our customers during this time of need amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It is not

Amazon’s practice to direct employees to threaten suppliers, and Amazon is not aware of any

employee doing so.

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Questions from Rep. Henry “Hank” Johnson, Jr.

1. Amazon touts Project Zero as a solution to counterfeits on its platforms. Please explain the

following with respect to Project Zero:

1.1 How does a brand owner apply for Project Zero? What criteria are used to

determine eligibility for Project Zero?

Any brand can apply to enroll in Project Zero by visiting http://www.projectzero.com/

To be eligible for Project Zero, a brand must have a registered trademark, an Amazon

account with access to Brand Registry, and have maintained an accuracy rate of higher

than 90% for all notices of infringement submitted to Amazon in the prior six months.

Requiring a high rate of accuracy for notices of infringement is critical to protecting

honest sellers from abusive removals.

1.2 How many brands currently participate in Project Zero?

There are more than 10,000 brands currently enrolled in Project Zero.

1.3 Project Zero puts the onus on brand owners to police Amazon’s website. What

more can Amazon do to relieve that burden on brand owners, particularly for smaller

companies?

Project Zero does not put the onus on brand owners to police Amazon’s website.

Project Zero utilizes proactive measures such as automated brand protections to scan

Amazon’s store and remove suspicious listings, reducing the need for brand owners to

ever file a notice of infringement. Although Project Zero does give brand owners the

unprecedented ability to directly remove counterfeit items from Amazon’s store when

they find a counterfeit, because of the effectiveness of Amazon’s proactive measures,

Amazon proactively removes more than 100 items suspected of infringement based on

automated protections for every takedown conducted by a brand owner.

Further, Amazon is proud to support millions of small and medium-sized businesses in

the United States and around the world. Amazon invests significant resources to help

businesses succeed, including by developing innovative anti-fraud and anti-abuse tools

that can be easily used by entrepreneurs, no matter the size of their businesses.

Amazon also launched IP Accelerator, a new program that helps brands—including small

and medium-sized businesses—more quickly obtain intellectual property rights and

brand protection in Amazon’s store. IP Accelerator connects brands with a curated

network of trusted intellectual property-focused law firms that provide high quality

trademark registration services at competitive rates to help brands secure a U.S.

trademark. As of the end of December 2019, Amazon has been able to connect more

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than 1,500 brands with its network of vetted intellectual property-focused law firms,

and more than 500 brands have received accelerated protection in Amazon’s store.

1.4 What are the costs involved in project serialization, a featured component of

Project Zero? Does Amazon offer a no-cost option for project serialization? Why

should brands have to pay Amazon to keep counterfeits off its site?

Serialization is an optional component of Project Zero; brands are not required to

serialize products in order to participate. For brands that choose to serialize their

products using the Transparency program, the cost ranges from one to five cents per

unit, depending on the number of units included in the program.

Brands that enroll in Transparency are not paying to keep counterfeits off of Amazon.

Transparency works across sales channels and allows brands to better protect their

entire supply chain from counterfeits. In addition to enabling customers in any sales

channel to authenticate products, brands can use Transparency to communicate unit-

level product information everywhere they sell, including manufacturing date,

manufacturing place, and enhanced product information (e.g., ingredients).

2. In July, Amazon announced that it would begin displaying the names and addresses of its

third-party sellers on each seller’s profile page. Seller transparency is an important step in

addressing the scourge of counterfeits, but the accuracy of this information is critical to its

effectiveness.

2.1 What vetting practices has or will Amazon put in place to ensure that the

published contact information for third-party sellers is accurate?

Amazon leverages a combination of computer-based machine learning and expert

human review to vet every third-party seller when they attempt to register in Amazon’s

store, before they are permitted to sell certain products, and during the course of their

activities in Amazon’s store. During registration, all third-party sellers are required to

provide a government-issued photo ID and information about their identity, location,

and taxpayer information, as well as a bank account and a credit card. After collecting

identity information from sellers, Amazon uses a proprietary system to analyze

hundreds of unique data points to verify the information and identify potential risks.

This includes human review of documents that sellers provide, as well as matching

certain information against third-party or government records, such as IRS records to

verify taxpayer identification number, and charging credit cards to ensure successful

authorization verification from payment processors.

Amazon continues to innovate on these processes to proactively block bad actor

attempts to complete the registration and identity verification process. In 2019 alone,

Amazon stopped more than 2.5 million bad actor accounts before they were able to

publish a single listing in Amazon’s store. Amazon also continually monitors the

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activities of sellers who do complete registration and identity verification, and requires

additional information to sell certain products that pose a higher safety or authenticity

risk.

2.2 If a seller changes its public contact information, will additional vetting be

conducted at the time of such change?

Amazon requires all sellers to inform Amazon if their information changes, and

continuously monitors sellers’ activities in Amazon’s store for various types of risk,

including the risk that a seller is not who they claim to be. When an issue is detected,

Amazon takes swift action to deactivate the account or ask the seller for more

information. These risk evaluations are performed on an ongoing and continuous basis.

3. The pandemic has significantly scaled back the public’s ability to visit brick-and-mortar

retailers, leading many to turn to online marketplaces like Amazon for their shopping. Yet, as

I discussed at the hearing, counterfeit products are prevalent on Amazon, and these

counterfeits are susceptible to being defective, dangerous, and even fatal. What steps does

Amazon take to ensure that the products offered by the third-party sellers on its platform are

legitimate, safe, and compliant with the standards required in the brick-and-mortar context?

Amazon disagrees with the premise that counterfeit products are prevalent in Amazon’s store.

In 2019 alone, Amazon invested more than $500 million and employed more than 8,000 people

focused on fighting fraud and abuse. As a result of these investments, Amazon ensured that

99.9% of all products viewed by customers in Amazon’s store did not have a valid counterfeit

complaint.

Amazon is committed to ensuring that only safe and authentic products are offered in Amazon’s

store. To that end, Amazon strictly prohibits the sale of counterfeit or stolen products and

requires all products in Amazon’s store to comply with applicable laws, regulations, and Amazon

policies, including qualification requirements for sellers offering products that pose higher

potential safety and counterfeit risks. These efforts go well beyond any legal obligations, and

Amazon invests heavily in proactive efforts to prevent bad listings from ever reaching Amazon’s

store.

Amazon emphasizes preventative, technology-driven tools designed to proactively stop fraud

and abuse at scale before it affects a customer or selling partner. In 2019, these tools stopped

more than 2.5 million suspected bad actor accounts before they were able to publish a single

item for sale, and blocked more than 6 billion suspected bad listings before they were published

to Amazon’s store. Amazon has also developed industry-leading brand protection tools to

empower brands to partner with Amazon to drive counterfeits to zero, and has robust

mechanisms to enable rights owners to file notices of infringement. Amazon maintains a

dedicated team of investigators to evaluate such notices and takes appropriate action in

response to confirmed infringement, which may include removing the product for sale,

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terminating the infringing seller’s account or related accounts, withholding funds, destroying

inauthentic inventory, pursuing civil litigation, and working with law enforcement to support

criminal prosecution. Amazon also ensures that any customer who purchased a counterfeit

product is able to receive a refund.

Finally, to ensure customer safety, Amazon requires all selling partners to have applicable safety

documents on hand when they list a product and to immediately provide those documents upon

request. Amazon regularly contacts selling partners to request safety documentation to help

ensure the products in Amazon’s store meet relevant product safety standards. Likewise,

Amazon proactively seeks out potential safety concerns, investigates those concerns, and

removes potentially unsafe products from Amazon’s store. In connection with these efforts,

Amazon works regularly with relevant regulatory authorities to help identify trends, develop

regulations, and determine whether actions like a recall are warranted.

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Questions from Rep. Jamie Raskin

Plastic Packaging:

1. What specifically is Amazon doing to address its plastic problem and to reduce (and disclose)

its plastic footprint in the United States as it has in countries like India (where it has made real

commitments to reduce plastic packaging)?

Amazon is reimagining packaging by applying technology solutions to minimize waste from the

manufacturer to the customer’s doorstep. Over the past five years, Amazon has eliminated

more than 880,000 tons of packaging materials—the equivalent of 1.5 billion shipping boxes. As

these efforts continue, Amazon is also creating new packaging designs and materials that can be

easily recycled in the waste stream, like Amazon’s lightweight paper cushioned mailer, which

Amazon is using increasingly in the United States. Amazon is also working to recycle more of the

plastic used in Amazon’s own operations and to expand collection and recycling infrastructure

nationwide. These innovations support Amazon’s carbon reduction goals, including a “Shipment

Zero” goal that 50% of Amazon shipments are net-zero-carbon by 2030.

As the first signatory of The Climate Pledge, Amazon is committed to achieving the goals of the

Paris Climate Agreement—10 years early. That means Amazon will be a net-zero-carbon

business by 2040, and, as previously noted, 50% of Amazon shipments will be net-zero-carbon

by 2030. Additional information on Amazon’s sustainability programs, including packaging

initiatives, can be found in Amazon’s annual sustainability report:

https://sustainability.aboutamazon.com/

2. Will Amazon offer its customers the option to select plastic free choices at checkout?

Amazon is continuously innovating to provide our customers with the best possible online

shopping experience, including shipping and packaging options that are responsive to customer

needs.

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HBO MAX:

1. Is Amazon asking for the rights to carry HBO Max content or any other Warner Media content

on its Amazon Prime Video service as part of the negotiations to grant HBO Max access to Fire

TV or the Fire TV Stick? Has Amazon sought similar access to the rights to content from any

other streaming services, including but not limited to Hulu, Disney+, or Netflix, which are

featured on Fire TV or the Fire TV Stick? If so, what content did Amazon seek and obtain and

why is Amazon seeking it for its competing video service?

Like other companies, Amazon is unable to reveal details about ongoing, confidential

negotiations with a business partner. As has been publicly reported, however, Amazon and HBO

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are negotiating a broad deal across a number of business lines, including Prime Video and Fire

TV. As a general matter, Amazon takes a customer-centric approach with respect to

negotiations, and recognizes that customers come to Amazon for a vast selection of products,

including content. Given significant competition in the content distribution space, Amazon

believes customers disappointed in the offerings on Prime Video or Fire TV will turn to other

options. With this in mind, Amazon is committed to providing a great selection to our Prime

Video customers, and licensing content for distribution via Prime Video can be a good way to

add value for customers.

2. Is Amazon asking for any other concessions from HBO Max or Warner Media that could

benefit Amazon Prime Video or any other Amazon service as part of the negotiations for HBO

Max or Warner Media to access Fire TV or the Fire TV Stick?

Like other companies, Amazon is unable to reveal details about ongoing, confidential

negotiations with a business partner. As is standard practice during a negotiation between two

companies, the terms under negotiation between Amazon and HBO Max are not solely financial,

and also include marketing, advertising, and distribution commitments, amongst others.

3. Has Amazon offered HBO Max access to Fire TV or the Fire TV Stick on terms that are similar

to the terms Amazon has agreed to with Hulu, Disney+ and Netflix? If not, why not and what

conditions or concessions are different?

Like other companies, Amazon is unable to reveal details about ongoing, confidential

negotiations with a business partner. As a general matter, Amazon takes a customer-centric

approach with respect to negotiations and recognizes that customers come to Amazon for a vast

selection of products, including content. Even with this basic guiding principle, the precise

contours of Amazon’s business relationships with current and prospective partners vary widely.

As a result, negotiations with different businesses naturally present different considerations.

This is particularly true in the differentiated—and highly competitive—content distribution

space, where many companies offer a host of unique offerings to viewers.

4. Please provide examples where it would be appropriate and normal business to leverage a

dominant market position in one line of business to benefit the same firm’s market position in

another line of business.

Amazon is focused on negotiating for the best prices and selection for the benefit of customers.

In the normal course of business, it is common to negotiate non-financial terms during

negotiations. Amazon is a relatively new entrant in both the device and content services

businesses and customers have many available options to consume video content—including

smart TVs, streaming media players, mobile phones and tablets, game consoles, set-top boxes,

and personal computers. Amazon does not have a dominant market position in any putative

device or content services market segment. Amazon competes and negotiates with well-

established competitors in this space, such as NBCU/Comcast, Google/YouTube, Apple, Roku,

Amazon

Samsung, Sony, Netflix, Hulu, and Disney, amongst others. Amazon, and its competitors, often

find that negotiating a broad deal across more than one line of business helps both companies

to achieve the desired result—lower prices and more choices for customers.

5. Please provide examples where it would be inappropriate to leverage a dominant market

position in one line of business to benefit the same firm’s market position in another line of

business.

While this question is highly theoretical, Amazon’s business is built on being obsessively focused

on improving the customer experience in Amazon’s store, including by providing access to a

broad selection of products. This customer-centric approach is good for customers and the

businesses with which Amazon partners, including the content creators who continue to thrive

on Prime Video and Fire TV. Amazon does not have a dominant market position in any putative

device or content services market segment. Amazon competes and negotiates with well-

established competitors in this space, such as NBCU/Comcast, Google/YouTube, Apple, Roku,

Samsung, Sony, Netflix, Hulu, and Disney, amongst others.

6. Please provide the additional information that Mr. Bezos committed to get to the

Subcommittee regarding Amazon’s current negotiations with HBO Max and Warner Media.

See responses to Questions 1–5 above. As explained above, Amazon takes a customer-centric

approach with respect to negotiations, and recognizes that customers come to Amazon for a

vast selection of products, including content. As a general matter, Amazon’s negotiations with

other established companies—like HBO Max and Warner Media/AT&T—often involve examining

multiple opportunities across Amazon’s business to create value for our customers. And, as

with any negotiation regarding an important business relationship, both Amazon and

HBO/WarnerMedia/AT&T have vigorously pursued their respective goals in these ongoing

negotiations.

Amazon

Questions from Rep. Ken Buck

1. Mr. Bezos, Amazon is conducting an investigation into the use of third-party company data to

launch its own products. Can you please list each alleged incident of misuse or Amazon policy

violation and your conclusion as to whether Amazon’s internal policies were violated? Please

explain any disciplinary or corrective action that is taken in the event of a violation being

substantiated.

Amazon is fully committed to complying with its voluntarily adopted Seller Data Protection

Policy. Amazon trains employees on the policy and regularly audits its systems and processes

for compliance. Likewise, Amazon encourages employees to report any indication of potential

lack of compliance with internal policies, including the Seller Data Protection Policy, and Amazon

responds appropriately to any such reports. And, as with any other Amazon policy, Amazon

takes appropriate action in response to any policy violations.

2. As our nation faces continued shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE), prices on

ecommerce platforms for these desperately needed products have skyrocketed while

ecommerce platforms have failed to guarantee product safety and have failed to remove

counterfeit products. How will Amazon ensure the safety of PPE products for sale on its

platform and marketplace?

Amazon has long-standing policies against counterfeiting and price gouging and has processes in

place to proactively block suspicious products and egregious prices. When Amazon finds a bad

actor violating its policies, Amazon works quickly to remove the products and take action against

the bad actor. Amazon also invests heavily in proactive efforts to prevent bad

listings—including counterfeits—from ever reaching its store. In 2019 alone, Amazon invested

over $500 million into this issue, and has more than 8,000 employees who focus on fighting

fraud and abuse. Amazon’s efforts have ensured that 99.9% of all products viewed by

customers on Amazon did not have a valid counterfeit complaint.

Additionally, Amazon has called on Congress to establish a federal price gouging law, and is

committed to continuing to work with policymakers on a bill that would hold bad actors

accountable for artificially raising prices on high demand basic necessities, including PPE, during

this pandemic. Amazon is disappointed that bad actors are attempting to take advantage of this

global health crisis, and it has already removed more than half a million offers for attempted

price gouging, suspended more than 6,000 selling accounts for violating Amazon’s policies, and

provided data to law enforcement to hold them accountable. Amazon’s teams continue to

actively monitor its store and remove offers that violate Amazon’s policies.

Amazon’s “Amazon Business Solutions Agreement” (“BSA”) requires sellers to provide accurate

information about their products on product detail pages. Amazon has automated tools that

scan hundreds of millions of listings 24/7 to proactively block inaccurate claims about COVID-19.

Amazon

Amazon’s efforts have blocked or removed more than 6.5 million products suspected of making

inaccurate COVID-19 claims from Amazon’s store.

In March, 2020, Amazon recognized that many PPE products were in short supply and took the

unprecedented action of setting up a dedicated storefront for those PPE products, providing

exclusive access to government agencies, healthcare institutions, first responders, and other

customer segments with the greatest needs. Key products available on this storefront are

subject to additional verification. For example, N95 respirator masks can only be sold by pre-

approved sellers and purchased by pre-approved customers (e.g., hospitals, first responders,

etc.). Sellers of N95 masks are required to provide documentation demonstrating the

authenticity of the product, and Amazon checks that the product appears on the list of

approved N95 masks published by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

before the seller can list the product. Amazon utilizes automated tools and manual auditing to

prevent sellers from circumventing this approval process.

3. Mr. Bezos, in January, DHS released a comprehensive report entitled: “Combatting Trafficking

in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods.” The report contained ten specific Best Practices for E-

Commerce Platforms and Third-Party Marketplaces (cited below). Can you provide the

Committee with a detailed assessment of how Amazon is in compliance with each of these

best practices? And if you are not in compliance, how Amazon plans to adhere to them in the

future?

Amazon has already implemented many of the “Best Practices for E-Commerce Platforms and

Third-Party Marketplaces” recommended in the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”)

report. For example, the report recommends that marketplaces should have “protocols and

procedures to place limitations on the sale of products that have a higher risk of being

counterfeited or pirated and/or pose a higher risk to the public health and safety.” DHS also

recommends that marketplaces publish lists of such restrictions. Amazon fully agrees with these

particular recommendations and already follows these practices. Amazon prohibits the sale of

certain high-risk categories, like prescription medications and airbag components, and publishes

a list of prohibited items.

Further, as detailed in response to Rep. Johnson’s questions above, Amazon also engages closely

with law enforcement when a counterfeit product is discovered to help bring counterfeiters to

justice. Amazon also believes that some of the DHS recommendations are not sound policy and

would have unintended adverse effects on honest third-party sellers and customers.

Amazon’s existing systems for preventing counterfeits are industry leading and continually

updated to meet the challenge of fighting counterfeits. Even as Amazon continues to adhere to

the practices described above, Amazon believes it is critical that legislative and regulatory

processes enable Amazon to remain flexible, constantly innovate, and adapt technology and

processes to best prevent counterfeits and block bad actors.

Amazon

* * *

1. Do you employ end to end encryption for communications on your products in China?

Amazon does not sell communications devices in China.

2. Do you provide user enabled and controlled encryption on the communications devices you

sell in China?

Amazon does not sell communications devices in China.

3. Do you provide China and the Chinese Communist Party access to users’ information and

content as required by Chinese law?

As stated in the privacy notice for Amazon’s Chinese Website, Amazon releases account and

other personal information when the company believes release is appropriate to comply with

the law.

4. What user information or content do you provide the Chinese government under Chinese

law?

As is stated in the privacy notice for Amazon’s Chinese Website, Amazon releases account and

other personal information when the company believes release is appropriate to comply with

the law.

5. If you deploy Artificial Intelligence to identify illegal content consistent with Chinese law:

o What data points does your AI examine?

o How is your AI trained to identify and keep up with the changing language, vocabulary

and codes used by pedophiles and other criminals?

Amazon uses automated processes in China and the other jurisdictions in which it operates to

help ensure compliance with applicable law, including by screening for illegal products and

content. Amazon’s automated processes use multiple software techniques, such as searches for

keywords, which are updated periodically.

6. Does China require you to submit either your encryption of AI algorithms to Chinese

authorities for technical evaluation before you are permitted to deploy them in China?

Amazon has not been asked by the Chinese government to submit Amazon’s encryption or AI

algorithms for technical evaluation.

Amazon

7. Does China require providers to back up the contents of all devices into the either the

company’s data center or a government data center in China?

The only Amazon device available for sale in China is the Kindle E-reader. Amazon is not aware

of any Chinese laws requiring Amazon to back up the contents of Kindle E-readers into private or

government data centers in China.

8. Does China require information on any or all of your devices that access the Chinese cellular

telephone infrastructure or Internet to backup their content and user information in Chinese

datacenters? Does this apply to tourists and business travelers, to include United States

citizens?

Amazon is not aware of any Chinese laws requiring Amazon to back up the contents of Kindle E-

readers—the only Amazon device available for sale in China—into private or government data

centers in China.

Amazon

Questions from Rep. Pramila Jayapal

1. Please explain what kinds of information Amazon can access about third party seller sellers

that Amazon third party seller sellers do not have access to.

Amazon invests heavily in supporting third-party sellers, including by creating tools to support

them and providing them with immense data resources. Those resources start with providing

third-party sellers data about all of their own sales in Amazon’s store. To help third-party sellers

succeed, Amazon also provides them with aggregated data regarding what customers are

looking for and buying in Amazon’s store. For example, Amazon provides third-party sellers

data through dashboards and customizable business reports available through Seller Central,

data feeds available through the Marketplace Web Service APIs, and recommendations Amazon

makes available through the Selling Coach tool. These tools have proven successful and

continue to grow in popularity and sophistication.

Amazon also uses third-party seller data to support sellers or to enhance or protect Amazon’s

customers’ experience. In connection with these efforts, numerous Amazon teams have access

to aggregated third-party seller data, including Amazon’s Retail team, Private Brands team, and

the teams that build tools and services to help Amazon’s selling partners succeed and to help

prevent fraud and abuse in Amazon’s store. In certain cases, seller data utilized for these

purposes is not made available to third-party sellers. In addition, to protect against fraud and

protect customer privacy, Amazon limits the customer personal data that it provides to third-

party sellers.

2. How many Third-Party Seller Data Audits has Amazon conducted within the past ten years?

Please provide the dates and results of each audit

Amazon’s Internal Audit team conducted company-wide audits of compliance with Amazon’s

Seller Data Protection Policy in 2015 and 2018, at the request of counsel. Amazon has

previously produced to the Committee non-privileged material related to these audits. In

addition, internal lawyers regularly interact with employees who work on the private brands

business, answer questions regarding the appropriate use of data as necessary, and regularly

review the private brands business’s data queries for compliance with the Seller Data Protection

Policy.

3. Who at Amazon conducts Third-Party Seller Data Audits?

Amazon’s Internal Audit team conducted company-wide audits of compliance with Amazon’s

Seller Data Protection Policy in 2015 and 2018, at the request of counsel. In addition, internal

lawyers regularly interact with employees who work on the private brands business, answer

questions regarding the appropriate use of data as necessary, and regularly review the private

brands business’s data queries for compliance with the Seller Data Protection Policy.

Amazon

4. Who at Amazon sees the results of the Third-Party Seller Data Audits?

Amazon’s Internal Audit team conducted company-wide audits of compliance with Amazon’s

Seller Data Protection Policy in 2015 and 2018, at the request of counsel. Amazon has

previously produced to the Committee non-privileged material related to these audits. In

addition, internal lawyers regularly interact with employees who work on the private brands

business, answer questions regarding the appropriate use of data as necessary, and regularly

review the private brands business’s data queries for compliance with the Seller Data Protection

Policy. Amazon takes the results of its audits seriously and ensures that any relevant

stakeholders receive those results.

5. Please provide the number of category managers that have accessed non-public data about

third-party products and businesses.

Like any other store owner, Amazon uses aggregate data that it collects from sales in Amazon’s

store to improve customers’ experiences and the store’s performance. Employees, including

category managers, may use aggregated data about activities in Amazon’s store consistent with

their responsibilities, and numerous Amazon teams have access to such aggregated data. Like

anyone else, members of these teams can visit Amazon’s public product detail pages to learn a

product’s best-seller ranking, in addition to its product reviews and star ratings, and make a

determination on all of those bases about whether a product is selling well in its store.

6. Please explain what measures Amazon has taken to prevent Amazon employees from

accessing third party seller data and information.

Amazon trains employees on the voluntarily adopted Seller Data Protection Policy and regularly

audits its systems and processes for compliance. All Amazon Retail team members are required

to complete a policy-specific training module upon onboarding, and again every two years

thereafter. In addition to these mandatory trainings for all Retail employees, members of

Amazon’s Private Brands teams receive both an annual general training on the policy and an

additional Private Brands-specific training on the use of third-party seller data. Amazon is also

continually improving its technical controls to enforce this policy, and many tools in use today

are already configured to omit seller data or have strict permissioning requirements.

7. Please list all types of aggregate data that Amazon first party sales staff can access on third

party sellers.

Like any other store owner, Amazon uses aggregate data that it collects from sales in Amazon’s

store to improve customers’ experiences and the store’s performance. Employees may use

aggregated data about activities in Amazon’s store consistent with their responsibilities, and

numerous Amazon teams have access to such aggregated data, including teams responsible for

Amazon’s Private Brands business. Like anyone else, members of these teams can visit

Amazon’s product detail pages to learn a product’s best seller ranking, in addition to its product

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reviews and star ratings, and make a determination on all of those bases about whether a

product is selling well in its store.

8. If there is a product on Amazon Marketplace where one third-party seller accounts for 99% of

the sales and another third-party seller accounts for 1%, does Amazon designate data about

that product as “aggregate” data?

Under Amazon’s voluntarily adopted Seller Data Protection Policy, “aggregated data” is data

that is aggregated across multiple third-party sellers and, where available, Amazon’s first-party

sales, and is therefore not specific to an individual seller. Due to the nature of aggregated data,

the identity of and the particular sales attributed to any particular seller is not discernible from

the aggregated data, so the data would not reveal the relative proportions of each sellers’ sales.

9. If there is a product on Amazon Marketplace where there are three sellers and each accounts

for one-third of the sales, does Amazon designate data about that product as “aggregate”

data?

Under Amazon’s voluntarily adopted Seller Data Protection Policy, “aggregated data” is data

that is aggregated across multiple third-party sellers and, where available, Amazon’s first-party

sales, and is therefore not specific to an individual seller. Due to the nature of aggregated data,

the identity of and the particular sales attributed to any particular seller is not discernible from

the aggregated data, so the data would not reveal the relative proportions of each sellers’ sales.

10. Please identify each type of data that Amazon collects on actual and potential customers on

Amazon.com.

Amazon’s privacy notice (www.amazon.com/privacy

) describes what information Amazon

collects and how that information is used, and is provided in Appendix A. Amazon collects

customers’ information to provide, and continually improve, Amazon’s products and services.

First, Amazon receives information that customers provide related to their use of Amazon.com.

For example, customers provide information when they shop for or purchase products or

services, use features on Amazon.com, and enter information in their account settings. As a

result of those actions, customers might provide Amazon the following categories of

information: contact information, payment information, location information such as the

customer’s preferred shipping address, address book information, and account profile

information.

Second, Amazon automatically collects and stores certain types of information when a customer

uses Amazon.com, including information about their interaction with products or content

available through Amazon.com. Like many websites, Amazon uses cookies and other unique

identifiers and obtains certain types of information when a customer’s web browser or device

accesses Amazon.com. Examples of the categories of information Amazon collects and analyzes

include: IP address, login, or email address; device information; clickstream information to,

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through, and from Amazon.com; products and/or content viewed or searched; and webpage

interaction and metrics information. Amazon may also use device identifiers, cookies, and other

technologies on devices, applications, and Amazon webpages to collect browsing, usage, or

other technical information.

Third, Amazon might receive information about customers from other sources. Examples of

information Amazon receives from third parties include: updated delivery and address

information from Amazon’s carriers or other third parties; search results and links, including

paid listings (such as sponsored links); and credit history information from credit bureaus that

Amazon uses to help prevent and detect fraud.

11. For each of the following product categories, please identify the percentage of product listings

that are (i) Amazon first-party vs. Amazon third-party, and (ii) within Amazon first-party, the

percentage that are Amazon private label vs. non-private label.

a. Consumer electronics

b. Beauty

c. Kitchenware

d. Apparel

e. Children’s apparel

f. Sports apparel

g. Textbooks

h. Trade fiction books

i. Trade non-fiction books

j. Batteries

k. Toys

l. Smart speakers

Amazon seeks to deliver the best combination of price, selection, and convenience to our

customers—whether those products are sold by a third-party seller or by Amazon. Over the

past 20 years, third-party sellers have grown from 3% of sales of physical products by value in

our store, to nearly 60%. Conversely, private brands sales represent only about 1% of our total

sales. Amazon offers private brand products in highly competitive categories and Amazon’s

total sales lag far behind the percentage of sales that rival private brand retailers have achieved.

Amazon

The table below provides responsive information for comparable categories. Apparel is included

within Softlines, which also includes other non-apparel products such as footwear and

accessories. Our store offers a wide range of batteries, which are included in various categories.

Most types of batteries are included within Total Consumer Electronics and Consumables, each

of which include additional products. Smart Speakers are also included within the Total

Consumer Electronics category. These data are for Amazon’s 2019 Fiscal Year.

Listings

First-Party

Third-Party

Category

% of Total

Sales $

Private Brand

% of

First-Party

Non-Private

Brand % of

First-Party

% of Total

Sales $

Consumer Electronics

43%

97%

57%

Beauty

35%

< 1%

> 99%

65%

Home & Kitchen

33%

96%

67%

Softlines

28%

91%

72%

Books

74%

< 1%

> 99%

26%

Consumables

41%

98%

59%

Toys

42%

< 1%

> 99%

58%

13. What are Amazon’s policies with regards to offering marketing co-ops, also known as Base

Accrual / MDF, to third party sellers?

Like many retailers, Amazon has a longstanding practice of entering into marketing co-op

agreements with its vendors—suppliers that sell inventory to Amazon at wholesale, which

Amazon then sells to customers at retail. These co-op agreements, such as Marketing

Development Fund (“MDF”) agreements (also known as base accrual agreements), allow

Amazon to better promote vendors’ products by helping offset investments in activities like

marketing communications, in-store promotions, catalog improvements, and premium brand

stores. These investments support the success of retail vendors on Amazon. It is not Amazon’s

practice to enter into MDF agreements with third-party sellers, whom Amazon supports through

a variety of other programs.

14. Does Amazon ever execute contracts for marketing co-ops that are self-extending unless the

third-party seller opts out?

Amazon’s MDF agreements are typically set to a one-year term. For the convenience of Amazon

and its vendors, these agreements also commonly include an auto-renewal provision that

extends the MDF terms, typically for one year, unless the parties negotiate different terms or

either party provides notice to terminate the agreement. In general, vendors may access the

terms of their MDF agreements—including the auto-renewal and termination provisions—at any

time through Amazon’s Vendor Central, a portal that allows vendors to manage their businesses

with Amazon. As noted above, it is not Amazon’s practice to enter into MDF agreements with

third-party sellers, whom Amazon supports through a variety of other programs.

Amazon

15. Is Amazon’s Vendor Central website regularly updated with all binding contracts entered into

by third-party sellers? That is, should a third-party seller be able to always access a full listing

of all current, binding contracts into which they have entered with Amazon by accessing that

website?

Amazon Vendor Central is a portal for companies that sell to Amazon wholesale to supply

Amazon’s first-party retail offerings. Amazon Seller Central is a portal for third-party sellers that

sell in Amazon’s store. Amazon Seller Central includes a webpage regarding “Policies,

agreements, and guidelines” which includes the “Amazon Services Business Solutions

Agreement” (“BSA”) and information about recent changes to the agreement.

16. Does Amazon ever unilaterally update binding contracts with third-party sellers, without

providing them an opportunity to negotiate or opt-out?

Amazon’s BSA governs Amazon’s relationships with third-party sellers and the suite of optional

Amazon services available to them, such as Selling on Amazon and Fulfillment by Amazon.

Third-party sellers may access the terms of the BSA and information about recent changes to

the agreement at any time through their Seller Central accounts. Typically, Amazon provides 15

days’ notice to sellers of any modifications to the terms of the BSA through Seller Central. A

seller’s continued use of Amazon’s services constitutes acceptance of the updated agreement,

and they can terminate their agreement with Amazon at any time without advance notice. In

certain limited circumstances described in the BSA, Amazon may change the agreement

immediately to comply with government regulation, prevent fraud, launch new or modified

services, or prevent unsafe products or activities.

17. What type of notice does Amazon provide third-party sellers of any contractual changes?

Specifically, how much notice does Amazon provide and how does Amazon communicate this

information?

As described above, third-party sellers may access the terms of the BSA and information about

recent changes to the agreement at any time through their Seller Central accounts. Typically,

Amazon provides 15 days’ notice to sellers of any modifications to the terms of the BSA through

Seller Central. A seller’s continued use of Amazon’s services constitutes acceptance of the

updated agreement, and they can terminate their agreement with Amazon at any time without

advance notice. In certain circumstances described in the BSA, Amazon may change the

agreement immediately to comply with government regulation, prevent fraud, launch new or

modified services, or prevent unsafe products or activities.

18. News reports document that in March 2020, Amazon was providing delivery drivers with a

single disinfectant wipe to clean their vans.

a. Does Amazon still provide delivery drivers with a single disinfectant wipe to clean

their vans?

Amazon

b. Please specify all steps that Amazon has taken to ensure the safety of Amazon

delivery drivers.

The health and safety of Amazon’s employees and contractors—including Amazon’s delivery

service partners (“DSPs”) and their delivery drivers—has been Amazon’s top priority since the

pandemic began (we address DSPs in our response as it is the most relevant program to the

question’s focus on delivery drivers using vans). DSPs and the delivery drivers they employ

(Delivery Associates, or “DAs”) are not Amazon employees.

Amazon has worked closely with

DSPs in response to the pandemic. In particular, throughout the pandemic Amazon has worked

to ensure that DSPs have access to an ample supply of disinfectant wipes and other disinfecting

materials. Like many businesses during the early stages of the pandemic in March 2020,

Amazon had to react quickly to a rapidly evolving situation and secure scarce disinfecting

materials as supply chains dwindled. To help DSPs protect their DAs, Amazon provided not only

disinfectant wipes, but also disinfecting sprays, cloth/paper towels, and gloves to supplement

the availability of disinfecting wipes, particularly during the early days of the pandemic when

supply chains were more constrained.

Amazon has continuously monitored recommendations from local public health authorities, the

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”), the Centers for Disease Control

(“CDC”), and the World Health Organization (“WHO”), and has acted promptly alongside DSPs to

reduce the threat of virus transmission to Amazon employees, DSPs, and those with whom they

interact through measures including those described below:

Vehicle Cleaning and Hand Hygiene:

Amazon has increased the frequency and intensity of cleaning at all Amazon sites, including

regular sanitization of door handles, handrails, touch screens, scanners, and other frequently

touched areas. Amazon requires that all employees and DSPs clean and disinfect their work

areas. At the start and end of routes, DSPs must clean all frequently touched surfaces in the

delivery vehicle and other work equipment.

Amazon provides disinfectant wipes and other cleaning supplies daily to DSPs, including paper

towels, bottled disinfectant spray, and hand sanitizer. When Amazon is informed by a DSP that

their driver has a confirmed or presumptive COVID-19 diagnosis, Amazon determines whether

there is a need to do an enhanced cleaning. Once the determination is made and the vehicle

used by the DA is identified, the vehicle is immediately “red tagged” (taken out of service) and

an order is placed for enhanced cleaning with a third-party cleaning service.

Where context and brevity allows, DSPs and their DAs are referred to collectively as DSPs.

Amazon

Social Distancing:

Amazon employees and DSPs must adhere to the CDC’s guidance on social distancing while at

work, and maintain a distance of at least 2 meters/six feet (2m/6ft) from others.

Amazon’s delivery protocols require DSPs to avoid physical contact with customers, and

maintain a 2m/6ft distance from them. Where possible, DSPs complete deliveries with no

customer interaction—for example, leaving packages on doorsteps instead of handing packages

to recipients, and wearing masks when they are making deliveries or around others.

Age verification for deliveries is also completed without contact between the delivery driver and

the customer. Where an ID is needed, delivery drivers are instructed to check the ID without

touching or handling it (i.e., by asking the customer to place it against a glass window, or on the

ground). The customer’s identification details may also be entered into the Amazon Flex App.

For locker deliveries, the locker doors open by themselves. Delivery drivers are to avoid

touching the locker doors directly with their hands. If a locker door is touched, the surface must

be cleaned. The locker screen must also be cleaned. Upon returning to the vehicle, the delivery

driver must wash his or her hands and clean the delivery device and the vehicle door handle.

Masks:

Amazon is providing disposable and reusable masks to employees, contractors (including DSPs),

and all visitors at worksites. Amazon requires that everyone wear a mask covering over the

nose and mouth.

As discussed above, DSPs must wear masks when making deliveries or when around other

people. An Amazon yard marshal checks to ensure that all delivery drivers entering Amazon

delivery stations are wearing masks. If a delivery driver needs a mask, Amazon makes those

available. Delivery drivers who refuse to wear masks are not permitted to pick up packages for

delivery, and their employer is notified.

There is also an option in the Amazon app for customers to rate their delivery experience. One

of the options allows the customer to confirm whether a driver was wearing a mask. Any DSP

whose driver receives negative feedback receives a report and is instructed to coach the DA on

wearing a mask.

Confirmed Case Management of DSPs and Contact Tracing:

When Amazon receives confirmation from a DSP that an identified DA has been on an Amazon

site and also diagnosed with COVID-19, Amazon takes several steps:

• Inform the DSP that their employee may not return to work at an Amazon site until they

have satisfied CDC requirements, including Amazon’s self-isolation requirements.

Amazon

• Deactivate the DA’s badge to prevent entry onto an Amazon site until their symptoms

are gone and the DA has recovered.

• Confirm when the DSP’s employee was last on premises at the Amazon site and/or in a

delivery vehicle and determine if the vehicle needs to be taken out of service so that

enhanced cleaning may be completed.

• Perform contact tracing per Amazon’s confirmed case management protocols to

confirm whether the DA had close prolonged contact with others, and notify any close

contacts.

If Amazon learns that an Amazon employee, contractor, or DSP had a confirmed COVID-19 case,

and came in close prolonged contact with a DA, Amazon will notify the DSP of the contact-

tracing findings, and request that the DSP send the DA home to quarantine and self-monitor for

COVID-19 symptoms per CDC guidance.

Temperature Checks:

Amazon requires temperature checks for all employees and contractors (including DSPs) who

enter Amazon sites through an employee entrance. At most Amazon sites where DSPs operate,

Amazon provides on-premises temperature checks for each DSP employee who enters the site

through an employee entrance. At sites where this is not available, DSPs must implement a

daily temperature check for their delivery drivers who operate out of that site. Delivery drivers

use an app-based system to confirm that they took their temperature and that it is below

100.4ºF (or other temperature threshold established by local authorities). If a delivery driver

has an elevated temperature, he or she is prohibited from entering the Amazon site or

undertaking a delivery route, and must follow CDC guidelines, including staying home until they

are able to confirm that they are fever-free.

Driver Relief Fund:

Amazon has set up a $25 million relief fund to pay DSP DAs for up to two weeks if they get sick

with the virus or miss work due to quarantine.

19. How does Amazon track employee complaints about workplace safety?

Amazon encourages employees to raise workplace safety concerns and report noncompliance to

any manager, the Workplace Health and Safety (“WHS”) team, or to HR. The company will

promptly investigate and take appropriate corrective action. Amazon does not tolerate

retaliation against employees who report workplace safety concerns.

In responding to the pandemic, Amazon has sought feedback from employees. For example,

Amazon uses a daily employee opinion survey called “Connections” to seek employee feedback

about the effectiveness and consistency of Amazon’s safety practices. Connections questions

during the pandemic have covered topics such as social distancing compliance, proper facemask

use, and the availability of cleaning supplies. Some examples of Connections questions are, “Are

Amazon

you able to keep at least 6ft/2M from others at workstations/breakrooms?” and “Do you see

crowding at breaks, meals, or shift changes?” In order to track and take actions on feedback

collected from these questions, Amazon has employed a team of design engineers working with

WHS professionals and operations to ensure that Amazon is meeting social distancing

requirements. Sites have added breakrooms to address these concerns, in addition to

staggering shifts and break times.

Amazon also has an open-door policy for employees. If they have safety concerns or ideas on

how the company can improve (including COVID-19 measures), they are encouraged to bring

these concerns to their managers, the WHS team, or HR. Through Amazon’s open door process,

employees are free to raise concerns to the highest executive levels, including by emailing Jeff

Bezos directly. Amazon’s executive escalations team will then assign the concerns for

investigation through WHS, Legal, HR, and other departments, depending on the types of

concerns raised. Executive escalations are thoroughly investigated, and Amazon reports back to

the employee on the findings and the corrective actions taken (where applicable). Employees

may also post concerns anonymously on the Voice of the Associate (“VOA”) whiteboard—a

board that appears in open areas of fulfillment centers and other buildings in Amazon’s network

where employees may anonymously write out a workplace safety or other concern. WHS, HR,

and/or other management teams (depending on the issue raised) then investigate and respond

to the concern, noting the corrective action taken (where applicable). A recent example of

action taken from an issue flagged on a VOA board was a problem involving charging ports for

powered industrial trucks. The issue was investigated, and the closed-out corrective item was

then posted on the VOA board, noting that all charging ports were audited, faulty equipment

was red-tagged, and repairs were completed.

Where the complainant’s identity is known (meaning that the complaint was not anonymous),

the complainant receives confirmation of case closure and a high-level summary of findings at

the close of an investigation.

20. What is Amazon’s system for responding to those complaints?

Amazon’s system of responding to employee complaints is discussed in detail in response to

Question 19 above.

21. How does Amazon track subcontractor complaints about workplace safety?

Amazon also welcomes workplace safety concerns and reports of noncompliance from

subcontractors, including DSP drivers. Subcontractors are free to report safety concerns to their

employers, who, in turn, notify Amazon of concerns. Employees of subcontractors are also free

to use the same open-door policy available to Amazon employees by raising concerns with

Amazon managers and executives, the WHS team, or HR. DSPs are contractually required to

follow Amazon’s safety policies while onsite at Amazon premises, and to comply with all

applicable laws pertaining to motor vehicle operation and workplace safety. DSPs must report

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any significant safety incidents to the On Road Emergency Hotline. DSPs can contact the On The

Road team to make a complaint, and DAs can also make a complaint through a hotline managed

by the DSP Relations and Risk team. The DSP and DA complaints are then logged and triaged to

the appropriate team for investigation. All safety incidents reported to Amazon are tracked and

disseminated through Amazon’s Global Operations Center (“GSOC”) so that appropriate

responses, safety measures, and corrective actions may be taken for the safety of the DSPs and

their drivers.

Amazon’s contractor population also includes the Amazon Flex delivery model, where

individuals download the Flex App on their personal devices, then use their own personal

vehicles to deliver packages and groceries. Flex drivers can contact support via the Amazon Flex

app for workplace safety or other concerns. The Shipping, Delivery & Support team within

Amazon Flex receives and tracks complaints from delivery partners. For high-severity

complaints, support will escalate management of the complaint to Amazon’s GSOC. The GSOC

team manages and reviews incidents and complaints and takes action to protect the safety of all

delivery partners, affected co-workers, community members, and any other affected persons to

mitigate any potentially unsafe situation.

22. What is Amazon’s system for responding to those complaints?

Workplace safety complaints from subcontractors are just as important to Amazon as concerns

raised by Amazon employees, and the responses to the above questions regarding responses to

employee complaints are also applicable here. Complaints from subcontractors and/or their

employees are reviewed, assigned for investigation as needed, corrective action taken where

appropriate, and case/closure and investigation summary provided as discussed in response to

Questions 19–21.

23. Does Amazon track employee complaints about racial bias in the workplace?

Yes. Amazon tracks employee complaints about race discrimination in order to engage in

appropriate investigation and action.

24. What is Amazon’s policy on addressing those complaints?

Amazon maintains a zero-tolerance policy with respect to racial, sexual, and religious

discrimination and harassment. Amazon provides equal opportunity in all aspects of

employment and will not provide refuge to any individual or act that diminishes its

discrimination and harassment standards. Amazon’s policies encourage any employee who

believes that they have been discriminated against, harassed, or have suffered retaliation for

reporting discrimination or harassment to report it to any manager or to HR. Employees may

also report complaints about racial bias, discrimination, or harassment confidentially and

anonymously through the Amazon Ethics Line. Amazon does not tolerate retaliation against

employees who report unlawful discrimination or harassment and Amazon will

promptly investigate and take appropriate corrective action when incidents are reported.

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25. Please share the titles of all Amazon staff who play a role in charge of reviewing employee and

subcontractor complaints about workplace safety and racial discrimination, identifying and

implementing responses to those complaints, and making changes and interventions in the

workplace based on those complaints.

Amazon professionals who play a role in responding to and resolving workplace complaints

include WHS professionals (WHS Specialists, Managers, Regional Managers, Multi-Regional

Managers, and Directors), HR Business Partners, Employee Relations Specialists and

investigators, and HR Managers. Where a complaint involves the operations team within the

Amazon Customer Fulfillment network, titles for operations managers include Site Leader,

General Manager, Senior Operations Manager, Area Manager, and Regional Operations

Director. The Loss Prevention team may also be utilized where relevant to the complaint.

Professionals in the employee’s management chain may also be involved. Additionally, Amazon

Employee Relations teams include specialized HR investigatory functions, which provide

unbiased investigative services to Amazon employees raising or escalating complaints. For

complaints involving DSPs, the Amazon staff involved in reviewing, responding, and making

changes/interventions based on the DSP or DA complaints will vary based on the issues raised in

the complaint. Depending on the issues raised, stakeholders include DSP Relations and Risk

Contract Relations Manager, Amazon Central Investigations HR Investigator, Loss Prevention on

the Road Risk Manager, and Legal. For Flex complaints, Amazon staff involvement will also vary

based on the issues raised in the complaint. Usual stakeholders for complaints involving Flex

are: WW Flex Safety, Voice of the Driver, Flex Field Ops, Head of Flex, NA, SDS Operations, and

Legal.

26. Please share the names and titles of Amazon staff who have final decision-making authority

over Amazon’s responses to worker complaints.

All of the above-referenced HR professionals can have decision-making authority. Matters are

addressed on a case-by-case basis.

27. How does Amazon track COVID-19 infections in warehouses, with subcontracted warehouse

cleaning workers, with subcontracted delivery workers, and with Whole Foods employees?

When Amazon receives notice that an individual employed at a particular Amazon facility has a

confirmed diagnosis

of COVID-19 or is presumed

iii

to have COVID-19, Amazon has protocols in

place for managing the situation. These protocols also apply when Amazon is notified about a

COVID-19 case (either confirmed or presumptive) by a third-party cleaning vendor whose

A case is considered “confirmed COVID-19” when the diagnosed individual has a written viral laboratory (PCR

test) confirmation of COVID-19 viral infection.

iii

A case is “presumptive” or “presumed COVID-19” (also known as “probable”) when the individual is diagnosed

with COVID-19 by a healthcare professional, without laboratory testing, but has a medical note/certificate stating

the COVID-19 diagnosis.

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employee worked inside an Amazon building, and DSPs regarding their DAs. These protocols are

based on recommendations from health and safety regulators and experts, including the CDC,

OSHA, WHO, and state and local health authorities. Amazon confirms when the diagnosed

person was last on site in order to determine whether routine COVID-19 cleaning and

disinfection (beyond Amazon’s standard, extensive COVID-19 cleaning protocols) are necessary.

In making this determination, Amazon evaluates where the diagnosed person was in the

building, for how long, with whom they interacted, and how much time has passed since they

were on site, among other factors. Amazon then manages the case consistent with CDC

guidance and Amazon’s protocols.

In addition, following a confirmed COVID-19 case, Amazon completes contact tracing where

appropriate based on CDC guidance to identify those who were in close prolonged contact with

the diagnosed worker. Third-party vendors (including DSPs and their DAs) are also notified

when their employees are identified as a “close contact” under Amazon’s policy, where the

procedures described here also apply. Per CDC Guidance, Amazon defines “close contact” as

being within six feet of the diagnosed individual for more than 15 minutes. From the outset,

Amazon’s policy has been that the contact tracing period should begin two days (48 hours) prior

to the date of the diagnosed worker’s first symptoms, and end on the last date the diagnosed

worker was on site. In late June 2020, Amazon’s policy was further revised to reflect CDC

guidance on asymptomatic cases, which requires that the contact tracing period begin two days

prior to the laboratory test confirming that the diagnosed individual has COVID-19. For

diagnosed employees, Amazon conducts contact tracing by reviewing closed-circuit television

monitoring video (where available) and interviewing the diagnosed employee

about, among

other things, whether the diagnosed individual recalls having close contact with anyone who

works at an Amazon facility (including contractors). The scope of Amazon’s contact tracing also

includes identifying close contacts on site, as well as those who have carpooled with a

diagnosed employee for periods longer than 15 minutes, and those who cohabitate with a

diagnosed employee. In addition, Amazon proactively reaches out to local health authorities to

advise of confirmed COVID-19 cases and to ensure alignment in definitions of close contacts.

See the below response to Question 28 regarding notification by Amazon to employees who

were in close contact with a diagnosed individual as part of Amazon’s contact tracing analysis,

which provides additional responsive information to Question 27.

Whole Foods Market tracks COVID-19 positive cases through its Global Team Member Services

and HR teams. Whole Foods Market also engages in case management as described above,

including contact tracing when the store learns that an individual employed at a particular

Whole Foods Market facility has a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19. Whole Foods Market

In cases where Amazon is notified by a third-party vendor that their employee has a confirmed or presumptive

COVID-19 diagnosis, Amazon would ask them to collect relevant information for contract tracing purposes and

provide it to their Amazon contract manager.

Amazon

provides appropriate information to state and local health authorities, and complies with any

reasonable follow-up information requests.

28. How does Amazon disseminate information about COVID-19 infections to potentially

impacted workers in Amazon facilities?

Amazon notifies employees about individuals employed at their facility who have been

diagnosed with COVID-19 or who are presumed to have COVID-19 (but not the identity of the

individuals diagnosed), in line with guidance from the CDC and the U.S. Equal Employment

Opportunity Commission. These notifications are made through small-group, in-person

discussions with management (that comply with social distancing guidelines), text notifications,

and/or Amazon’s “A to Z” application. Individuals, including employees of third-party vendors

(including DSPs) identified as having had close, prolonged contact with diagnosed individuals are

also notified as part of the contact tracing process, discussed in response to Question 27.

29. Please provide a list identifying the number of COVID-19 cases and infection rates in each of

Amazon’s warehouses or fulfillment sites in the United States.

Amid this public health crisis, there is community spread of COVID-19, including in many of the

communities where Amazon employees live and work. Amazon has acted quickly to implement

safety procedures to keep employees safe and to try to avoid the transmission of COVID-19 in

Amazon facilities even where it exists in the communities where Amazon has a presence.

Amazon’s process updates include some of the measures discussed throughout these responses

to your questions, such as routine COVID-19 cleaning, staggering shift times to maintain

distancing as employees enter and exit buildings, rearranging work stations and breakrooms to

facilitate social distancing, conducting thermal screenings, and mandating usage of masks/face

coverings by employees. But, COVID-19 still exists outside of the workplace, and has continued

to spread in communities across the United States in homes or places with no relation to

Amazon. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration

(“OSHA”) recognized the significant likelihood of transmission through many other sources in

communities outside of work in its May 2020 enforcement guidance concerning COVID-19,

stating that “[g]iven the nature of the disease and the ubiquity of community spread[,] . . . in

many instances, it remains difficult to determine whether a COVID-19 illness is work-related,

especially when an employee has experienced potential exposure both in and out of the

workplace.”

Amazon believes the best use of tracking case counts is accomplished by local health authorities

(“LHAs”), who then use case data to assist their efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 within

their communities. As Amazon learned of the first cases of COVID-19 with employees at

Amazon sites in the United States in the early days of the pandemic, Amazon began engaging

with LHAs across the nation to notify them of confirmed or presumed COVID-19 cases. The

purpose is to arm LHAs with the information they need to investigate COVID-19 cases in their

communities, to clarify their definitions of “close contact,” and to advise them of actions taken

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based on Amazon’s case management policy. When Amazon receives confirmation that an

employee has been diagnosed with COVID-19, among other steps, an Amazon safety

professional attempts to contact the LHA where the employee resides. Amazon has been

proactively reaching out to state and local health authorities to determine their preferred

methods of contact, to better partner with them and provide notifications, and to learn about

other opportunities to collaborate.

30. Since all of the warehouse and contract delivery workers fired by Amazon after speaking out

about working conditions have been Black workers (including Chris Small and Gerald Bryson,

NY; Bashir Mohammed, MN; Courtney Bowden, PA; and Andre Kirk, IN), has Amazon

examined its workplace policies and enforcement practices to determine whether those

policies have a disparate impact or are being enforced in a manner that place a disparate

burden on Black workers?

Amazon supports every associate’s right to raise concerns to their manager, and has zero

tolerance for retaliation against associates who do so. However, that does not come with

blanket immunity against any and all internal workplace policies. All U.S. associates are

expected to follow the company’s Standards of Conduct. The Standards of Conduct contain a

list of examples of infractions that may result in corrective action, up to and including

termination of employment. The Standards of Conduct are only guidelines; of course, it is not

possible to list all the forms of behavior that are unacceptable in a workplace, and the Standards

of Conduct are not intended to be all-inclusive or exhaustive. Similarly, Amazon maintains the

ability in all circumstances to apply the appropriate level of corrective action, up to and

including immediate termination of employment, without prior corrective action. Disciplinary

decisions are made on a case-by-case basis, depending on the facts of the specific occurrence.

Amazon continuously reviews these standards.

31. Does Amazon plan on adjusting the wages for non-supervisory warehouse workers up to or

above $19.22, the nationwide average hourly wage for non-supervisory warehouse workers?

In 2018, Amazon announced an increased minimum wage of $15 for all full-time, part-time,

temporary (including those hired by agencies), and seasonal employees across the United

States. In many places around the country, Amazon’s starting wage is even higher—in fact, 45%

of entry-level fulfillment center employees make more. Amazon is proud that its minimum

wage is more than what most other retailers offer even after their temporary increases in recent

months, and Amazon hopes its peers will bring their minimum pay closer to Amazon’s. Amazon

has publicly advocated that Congress should raise the federal minimum wage to $15 as well.

Amazon hopes others follow its lead, like Target and Best Buy did only recently. Fifteen dollars

should be the minimum anyone is paid in the U.S.—but 42% of U.S. workers make less for an

hour's work. In addition to its industry-leading minimum wage, Amazon’s benefits package on

Day One includes: medical, vision, and dental insurance; generous parental leave, including five

months of maternity leave; and a network of support programs. Full-time, hourly employees

have the same benefits as corporate employees, ensuring every Amazonian has access to the

Amazon

best health care and insurance programs. Amazon will continuously evaluate its pay structure

for hourly workers and will update it as appropriate.

32. What is Amazon’s written policy on how the company responds to union drives and other

protected, concerted activities designated under the National Labor Relations Act?

Amazon respects the rights of employees to engage in protected, concerted activities, including

protests, and follows applicable law with respect to protected activities. Amazon believes that

candid and constructive communication is essential to the smooth functioning of the workplace

and to maintaining an atmosphere of mutual respect. Accordingly, Amazon has an “open door”

policy, which means that employees are welcome to discuss any suggestion, concern, or other

feedback with any member of the company’s management. Amazon believes that this direct

communication is the most effective way to understand and respond to the needs of its

workforce. Associates are encouraged to provide feedback—through public channels like team

meetings or the “Voice of Associate” whiteboard, or through private channels such as

Connections surveys and closed-door meetings with their managers. Amazon does not tolerate

retaliation against employees who raise concerns.

33. Please identify all complaints filed against Amazon with OSHA, the EEOC and the National

Labor Relations Board since 2015.

NLRB charges and petitions are available at

https://www.nlrb.gov/reports/graphs-data/recent-

filings and decisions are available at https://www.nlrb.gov/search/case. OSHA activity is

available at https://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/establishment.html. EEOC charges of discrimination

are not public. And, while Amazon, like most large U.S. employers, receives many such charges

each year, the vast majority are dismissed by the agency or otherwise amicably resolved by the

parties. As a result, such nonpublic charges necessarily provide an incomplete perspective of

Amazon’s commitment to its obligations under U.S. employment law. Amazon’s initial search

has found approximately 1,480 charges since 2015. Over the same period, approximately 16 of

those cases resulted in a “cause” or “partial cause” finding after an investigation.

34. What is Amazon’s written policy as to whether employees (including Whole Foods and

warehouse workers) are permitted to wear masks, buttons, and other clothing with

expressive speech, including “Black Lives Matter”? How have supervisory employees in

warehouses and Whole Foods been informed of this policy?

Amazon maintains a neutral dress code policy. In customer-facing operations, among other

guidelines, Amazon requires that shirts/tops, pants, hats and personal protective equipment

(“PPE”) (e.g., masks/gloves) be free of any slogan, flags, symbols or advertising patterns, or

logos that could be visible to customers, other than Amazon branding.

Amazon’s general dress standard for non-customer facing associates permits pictures, symbols,

statements, and slogans on clothing or visible tattoos as long as they are not offensive such that

they would violate Amazon’s harassment, discrimination, or other related policies. In order to

Amazon

operate in a customer-focused environment, all Whole Foods Market Team Members must

comply with the longstanding company dress code, which prohibits clothing with visible slogans,

messages, logos or advertising that are not company-related. Amazon and Whole Foods Market

managers are in charge of enforcement of such policies, which are included in Amazon’s

Owner’s Manual and Guide to Employment and Whole Foods Market’s General Information

Guide, which every employee receives at the beginning of their employment.

35. Your general counsel recently declared that Chris Smalls, a Black worker who Amazon fired

after he raised workplace safety issues, is “not smart or articulate.” Has your General Counsel

faced any consequences from the company for this statement?

The comment was made at an internal meeting after General Counsel David Zapolsky heard

about Mr. Smalls’s public misstatements about Amazon and his deliberate violations of policies

that protect the health of Amazon’s workers. Mr. Zapolsky was not aware of Mr. Smalls’s race.

He has taken full responsibility for his word choices and he publicly apologized, explaining: “My

comments were personal and emotional. I was frustrated and upset that an Amazon employee

would endanger the health and safety of other Amazonians by repeatedly returning to the

premises after having been warned to quarantine himself after exposure to virus COVID-19. I let

my emotions draft my words and get the better of me.”

Amazon

Questions from Rep. Kelly Armstrong

1. Please explain the types of music licenses Twitch has secured for Twitch Sings.

Twitch Sings is a product that enables Twitch users to create and share videos of their personal

vocal performances of popular, licensed songs. The app offers a digital karaoke experience and,

as such, provides users with so-called “karaoke” recordings (i.e., instrumental recordings) for

them to sing along to, rather than original sound recordings featuring original artists.

Prior to the launch of Twitch Sings, Twitch secured and paid for global catalog-wide license

agreements with music publishers. These licenses enable users to create videos of their

performances with the Twitch Sings app, and to stream these videos in the Twitch Sings app and

the Twitch service. The licenses also include a limited right to use excerpts of performance

videos in marketing channels to promote Twitch Sings.

Additionally, Twitch secured global license agreements under which it pays royalties to record

labels for Twitch Sings, which grant similar rights to Twitch with respect to their karaoke

recordings.

2. Please explain whether Twitch secures music licenses for other types of Twitch streaming

besides Twitch Sings.

Twitch is a global community that comes together each day to create the future of

entertainment, with streaming content ranging from casual gaming and world-class e-sports to

cooking shows, comedy programs, and sporting events.

Twitch has secured and paid for copyright licenses with the American Society of Composers,

Authors and Publishers, Broadcast Music, Inc., the Society of European Stage Authors and

Composers, and equivalent performing rights organizations around the world, which cover the

public performance of musical compositions embodied in music streamed on the service.

Like other businesses that produce original content, Twitch secures and pays for music licenses

for the use of sound recordings and musical compositions in the content that it produces. These

licenses typically grant Twitch the right to distribute the production music, as included in Twitch-

created content, across a variety of media channels including Twitch.

3. Does Twitch provide resources to streamers on how to obtain music licenses that would

mitigate Digital Millennium Copyright Act takedown notices on Twitch streams?

Twitch seeks to provide streamers with clear parameters regarding the use of music on the

Twitch service. As part of this effort, Twitch publishes Music Guidelines and Terms of Service

that state that it is a violation of Twitch policies to stream content containing copyrighted music,

unless a streamer has the necessary rights or authority to do so. In addition, Twitch will be

providing other educational resources to its creators as part of its Creator Camp educational

Amazon

video series, including with respect to music licensing. These resources are anticipated to

launch before the end of 2020 and will augment the music licensing resources that Twitch

already shares directly with streamers engaged in monetizing their videos on Twitch. These

resources supplement existing third-party applications and services which Twitch creators can

use to add rights-cleared music to their streams.

Amazon

Questions from Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon

1. The General Services Administration (GSA) awarded Amazon one of three contracts to

conduct a pilot commercial e-commerce program. Do you feel it is a conflict of interest for

Amazon to sell its own products on a government platform it is in charge of running and

maintaining? If not, how can non-Amazon sellers be assured that there will be a level playing

field for their products in the portal?

No, Amazon does not believe that Amazon’s commercial practice of offering products sold by

Amazon and third-party sellers represents a conflict of interest. Indeed, Amazon believes it

provides the best customer experience, including low prices, great selection, and convenience,

by making it easy for customers to shop for all selection in Amazon’s store, whether sold by

Amazon or a third-party seller.

Pursuant to Section 846 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 (“FY18

NDAA”), GSA awarded Amazon and two other businesses contracts to conduct a pilot for its

Commercial Platforms Initiative. GSA analyzed numerous online shopping models to determine

which one was best suited for the pilot and selected the “e-marketplace model,” under which

customers can purchase from the operator of the store and third parties. Consistent with the

FY18 NDAA, the pilot provides GSA with access to Amazon’s store with the same features,

products, and prices that Amazon offers to other organizational customers, not a custom site

experience.

Amazon invests heavily to ensure third-party sellers’ success. For example, over the course of

2019 and 2020, Amazon will have invested more than $30 billion in logistics, tools, services,

programs, and people to help Amazon’s selling partners reach more customers worldwide.

These tools allow sellers to get access to data to help them increase sales, manage inventory,

and more efficiently keep their books. Today, third-party sellers account for nearly 60% of sales

of physical products by value in Amazon’s store. Revenues earned by American small to

medium-sized businesses from Amazon Business customers exceeded $7 billion between June

2019 and June 2020.

To further assist third-party sellers, Amazon Business’s Seller Certification Program allows

sellers, including small and disadvantaged businesses, to claim and display nationally and state-

recognized diversity and ownership certifications, including Small Business, Minority-Owned

Business, SBA-Certified HUB Zone Firm, SBA-Certified 8(a) Firm, Veteran-Owned Small Business,

and Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business. Buyers can use filters to refine search

results to items with offers from certified sellers.

Amazon

2. How will Amazon ensure that Amazon employees do not access and improperly use

proprietary information collected from independent or third party sellers via the GSA pilot?

Noting your inability to “guarantee” to the subcommittee that Amazon’s policy against using

seller-specific data to aid its private-label business “has never been violated,” please explain

how you will communicate this policy to employees and how you will ensure compliance

during the pilot?

Consistent with the authorization provided in the FY18 NDAA and with GSA’s Request for

Proposal, Amazon Business uses the same practices with regard to third-party seller information

that Amazon uses across its store. Amazon recognizes that third-party sellers are our customers

too, and their trust is critical to Amazon’s success. In an effort to further this partnership,

Amazon decided years ago to take additional voluntary steps to protect seller data by instituting

its voluntarily-adopted Seller Data Protection Policy, which prohibits Amazon Retail teams from

using non-public seller-specific data to compete against third-party sellers. Amazon trains

employees on the policy and regularly audits its systems and processes for compliance.

Likewise, Amazon encourages employees to report any indication of potential lack of

compliance with its internal policies, including its Seller Data Protection Policy, and Amazon

responds appropriately to any such reports. And, as with any other Amazon policy, Amazon

takes appropriate action in response to any policy violations.

3. It is critical that federal government employees be able to reliably purchase legitimate,

verified products via the GSA’s new commercial e-commerce program pilot. How will Amazon

ensure that counterfeit products are not sold to government officials? Will you commit to

providing contact information for any independent or third party sellers who list their

products on the GSA’s commercial e-commerce platform?

Amazon is committed to ensuring that only safe and authentic products are offered in Amazon’s

store. Amazon strictly prohibits the sale of counterfeit products, and requires that all products

in Amazon’s store comply with applicable laws, regulations, and Amazon policies. In addition,

Amazon Business regularly checks for any sellers that appear on the Office of Inspector

General’s and SAM.gov’s debarment lists, which gives a government purchaser the ability to

block or restrict purchases from such sellers.

Amazon goes well beyond its legal obligations and invests heavily in proactive efforts to prevent

bad listings—including counterfeits—from ever reaching Amazon’s store. In 2019 alone,

Amazon invested over $500 million and has more than 8,000 employees who focus on fighting

fraud and abuse. Amazon has built industry-leading tools like Brand Registry, which uses

machine learning to block counterfeits. Additionally, Amazon developed Project Zero, a

program that empowers brands to help Amazon drive counterfeits to zero in Amazon’s store,

and Transparency, a program that enables customers to verify product authenticity. Amazon’s

efforts have ensured that 99.9% of all products viewed by customers on Amazon did not have a

valid counterfeit complaint.

Amazon

On July 8, 2020, Amazon informed third-party sellers that Amazon is enhancing the seller profile

page, and beginning September 1, 2020, will display sellers’ business names and addresses.

4. What processes will Amazon put in place for federal purchasers if they believe they have

purchased a counterfeit, unsafe, or stolen good via the e-commerce program pilot? Should

Amazon be liable for a counterfeit – say, counterfeit furniture – sold through its platform that

fails and results in injury or harm to a government official?

Amazon’s mission is to be Earth’s most customer-centric company; Amazon works vigorously to

earn and keep customer trust, and an obsession with delivering an amazing customer

experience is at the heart of everything Amazon does. Stores like Amazon provide tremendous

selection, convenience, and value to consumers, as well as unprecedented opportunities for

millions of small and medium-sized businesses. Unfortunately, this also presents an attractive

target for criminals and bad actors to attempt to attack Amazon’s store. That is why Amazon

invests heavily in machine learning and other systems, as noted above, to proactively detect and

remove suspect listings. In addition to proactive technology investments and industry-leading

brand protection tools, Amazon also continuously scans feedback from customers, such as

customer reviews and contacts to Amazon’s customer service team, for signs of any safety or

authenticity issues and takes action on any suspected product, and uses this information to

improve the proactive controls.

Amazon also has robust mechanisms in place for enabling rights owners to file notices of

infringement. Once a notice of infringement is received, a dedicated team of investigators

evaluates the claim and takes appropriate action. Amazon has employees around the world

who are able to investigate reports of counterfeits 24 hours per day, seven days per week. If a

notice is determined to be valid, Amazon’s actions may include removing the product for sale

(or other similar actions that address the specific infringement), terminating the seller’s account

or related accounts, withholding funds, destroying inauthentic inventory, pursuing civil

litigation, and working with law enforcement to support criminal prosecution.

If a bad actor is able to evade Amazon’s detection mechanisms and sell counterfeit products,

Amazon makes it easy for customers to report those concerns. Amazon ensures that any

customer who purchased a counterfeit product is able to receive a refund. Every Amazon

customer is also protected by the “A-to-Z Guarantee”: if a customer suspects a product they

purchased from a third-party seller through Amazon’s store is inauthentic, Amazon will refund

the purchase price if the seller refuses to do so. However, even if a customer does not report an

issue, if Amazon believes a customer purchased a counterfeit, it proactively notifies and refunds

customers, even when those products are sold by third-party sellers in Amazon’s stores.

Amazon prohibits the sale of stolen products and provides options for rights owners and law

enforcement to report suspected stolen goods. If aware that a product is stolen, Amazon takes

action against the party who sold that product, including by removing the product for sale (or

other similar actions that address the specific violation), terminating the seller’s account or

Amazon

related accounts, withholding funds, destroying suspect inventory, pursuing civil litigation, and

working with law enforcement to support criminal prosecution.

Amazon is absolutely committed to keeping our customers safe. Amazon invests heavily to

ensure the products in Amazon’s store are safe, and works closely with relevant government

agencies when made aware of products that may be unsafe. Amazon welcomes further

discussion about how industry and government can collaborate to ensure customers’ safety and

root out bad actors.

5. Will Amazon share with Congress the names and contact information of third party or

independent sellers who agree to list and sell their products on the GSA’s new commercial e-

commerce program pilot, along with the products that are listed?

Consistent with the authorization provided in the FY18 NDAA and with GSA’s Request for

Proposal, pilot participants can purchase from any third-party seller who offers products via

Amazon Business—sellers do not agree to list and sell products specifically to government

purchasers through the pilot program. Amazon uses the same practices with regard to seller

identification that Amazon uses across its store. Information identifying sellers is shown on the

detail page of each product sold on Amazon. As explained in response to Question 3, beginning

September 1, 2020, Amazon will display sellers’ business names and addresses on seller profile

pages.

6. For any products that will be offered by both Amazon and (a) third party seller(s) on the GSA

portal, will you provide to Congress the product lists and relative pricing of each?

Consistent with the authorization provided in the FY18 NDAA and with GSA’s Request for

Proposal, no products or prices are unique to GSA’s use of the Amazon Business store. Amazon

uses the same practices with regard to listed products and pricing that Amazon uses across its

store. One of the benefits of GSA purchasing in the Amazon store is that all offers and their

corresponding prices for a product are easily viewable directly in the store and government

purchasers benefit from commercially available pricing.

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Questions from Rep. Lucy McBath

1. Please describe the process for a third-party seller who has a complaint or issue in need of

resolution, including the seller’s options for initial outreach and how a seller can escalate a

complaint or issue to a supervisor or otherwise if a response is unsatisfactory to the seller.

Selling partners have a variety of ways to contact Amazon employees. They can always contact

Amazon directly through email and engage with moderators through Amazon’s public online

forums. In addition, selling partners with a Professional Selling Plan can contact Amazon

through phone and chat. The most common way for sellers to reach an Amazon employee is to

use the “Contact Us” option within the “Help” section of Seller Central (the online portal for

third-party sellers). They have numerous other options to initiate a conversation with Amazon,

including through their account health dashboard in Seller Central, through help pages and

forums in Seller Central, through links included in emails that Amazon sends, and through

Amazon’s mobile selling app. Amazon proactively monitors support cases to help ensure that

sellers receive timely and accurate information. In some cases, Amazon calls sellers before

suspending their accounts to try to address the underlying issue and prevent account

suspension.

2. What number and percentage of total seller complaints are resolved through responses that

are individualized responses, that are not the result of artificial intelligence for each month

over the past five years? Please describe the relevant circumstances, including the channel of

communication, degree and type of human involvement in the response, and time permitted

for an individualized, human-generated response.

Amazon’s Selling Partner Support team handled more than 58 million contacts from selling

partners in 2019 and strives to respond to and resolve every contact expeditiously. To do this,

Amazon relies on nearly 15,000 people around the world and, to help sellers resolve issues

quickly, provides fast, automated responses to some questions; sellers seek additional

clarification from an associate in less than 20% of these cases. Overall, more than 90% of emails

are responded to in under 12 hours, more than 95% of phone calls are answered in under 90

seconds, more than 90% of chats are answered in under 90 seconds, and more than 85% of all

seller issues are fully resolved in under 24 hours.

3. Has Amazon implemented any measures aimed at reducing the costs of providing support to

third-party sellers within the past ten years. If yes, (a) describe each of those measures; (b)

whether Amazon received any complaints from third-party sellers about these changes; and

Amazon makes significant investments to support Amazon’s selling partners 24 hours per day, 7

days per week with nearly 15,000 people around the world dedicated to understanding,

responding to, and providing support to selling partners. Amazon employs more than 7,000

people worldwide to build and maintain the systems and tools that make it easier for selling

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partners to reach our customers. We aim to reduce costs by eliminating the root cause issues

that led to a seller having an issue—whether that’s an issue in a product feature, more clear

communication, or better self-service tools.

4. For Amazon employees who are responsible for providing support and assistance to third

party sellers, (a) provide the number of employees, broken down by full-time, part-time,

specific department, and location, who are devoted exclusively to the resolution of seller

concerns and complaints; (b) describe the amount and type of training and/or education

Amazon provides to each employee upon initial hiring and on a continuing basis to equip

them with the information they need to provide meaningful support and assistance to third-

party sellers; and (c) specify the types of authority each employee involved in seller support

has to implement any changes to a seller’s listing or account, including the number of

employees who have each type of authority.

Amazon makes significant investments to support Amazon’s selling partners 24 hours per day, 7

days per week with nearly 15,000 people around the world dedicated to understanding,

responding to, and providing support to selling partners. Amazon’s Selling Partner Support and

Account Health Support associates are supported by dedicated training programs that provide

at least 20 days of instructor-led training in their first 90 days, additional training based on areas

of specialization, databases of information that help them answer questions quickly, and

ongoing accuracy reviews to maintain high quality service.

5. Please identify the number of times over the past five years that Amazon’s responded to a

third-party seller concern or complaint by telling the seller that it cannot disclose the reason

why it has taken an action or refused to take an action with respect to a seller’s listing or

account due to proprietary reasons, leaving the seller with no explanation for the action or

inaction?

Amazon strives to make its selling policies clear and easy to understand for sellers. Amazon

provides account health dashboards and alerts, inventory management tools, a host of

performance reports, and dedicated APIs that help selling partners track the performance of

their products and accounts, and that give them warning of issues as they arise. Amazon offers

self-service resolution for many issues, enabling sellers to edit their listings or fix other common

problems instantaneously.

When a seller has violated Amazon’s policies, Amazon may take enforcement action to protect

customers, such as removing offers or suspending a seller’s account. Amazon proactively

notifies sellers when taking these actions, often through various communication channels.

Amazon’s notices aim to provide clear and actionable information to sellers. They describe the

policy violation that led to the action, and include instructions for how to appeal and how to

contact Amazon for help. In some cases, Amazon calls sellers before suspending their accounts

to try to address the underlying issue and prevent account suspension.

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Amazon also offers an appeals process where sellers can explain how they will prevent the

violation from happening in the future or let Amazon know if they believe the enforcement

action was a mistake. Those appeals are handled by specialized teams, and sellers are able to

submit information to support their case. Even when sellers are suspended for policy violations

they committed, Amazon realizes that sellers can make mistakes and should have a chance to

try again if they can implement controls to prevent their past issues from reoccurring. Sellers

whose accounts are suspended can contact Amazon’s trained account health support specialists

for assistance with an appeal.

Amazon must protect both our customers and selling partners from fraud, counterfeits, and

other forms of abuse, and in order to do so, Amazon sometimes takes swift action to suspend

selling accounts that have violated Amazon’s selling policies. To prevent demonstrated bad

actors from gaming the system or obtaining insights into how Amazon detected them, Amazon

may limit the information provided in suspension notices for egregious violations (e.g., stolen

identity, credit card fraud, efforts to defraud our customers, counterfeits, etc.). Amazon wants

to provide honest sellers with every opportunity to be successful while at the same time

ensuring that customers have a safe and trustworthy shopping experience.

6. Please confirm that it is Amazon’s position that for a third-party seller, Amazon can “limit the

ability to sell in a category,” without disclosing any reason for doing so, including for “reasons

that are internal to Amazon.” If this is not the case, please explain how Amazon’s position is

different and what limitations, if any, exist on Amazon’s ability to restrict a third-party seller’s

ability to sell on Amazon Marketplace without providing any substantive reason or

justification for doing so.

Amazon is focused on making sure our customers receive products that are safe, authentic, and

meet their expectations for competitive prices and availability. Amazon wants as many sellers

of a product as possible; that is why Amazon invited independent sellers into its store. And, of

course, Amazon occasionally limits who can sell a product. For example, to list certain product

categories, brands, or other types of products with heightened authenticity or safety concerns,

third-party sellers must meet additional requirements.

When it places these limitations, Amazon notifies sellers that it is implementing additional

requirements for certain products they are selling, and tells them which products they are no

longer eligible to sell. In many cases, sellers are eligible to submit an application to sell the

affected products and can contact Amazon’s seller support team to appeal the decision.

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7. Please describe the process through which e-mails sent to Jeff@Amazon.com are handled

over the past five years, including (a) who reviews these e-mails; (b) how often these emails

are reviewed; (c) how it is decided which seller issues raised in those e-mails will be

addressed; and (d) how those issues will be addressed (e.g., whether sellers receive an

automated response and whether an Amazon representative will follow up with sellers in

order to work toward a resolution).

Amazon strives to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, and listening to our customers,

including selling partners, is at the core of what Amazon does every day. Emails sent to Mr.

Bezos are reviewed by him or by members of his team, and questions from selling partners are

transferred to the Selling Partner Support team to reach a timely and accurate resolution as part

of the normal course of its work.

8. If a third-party seller or first-party seller requests that Amazon return its inventory to the

seller, please describe whether (a) Amazon will continue to charge the seller storage fees; and

(b) whether there is any time limit on how long Amazon will continue to charge the seller

storage fees, despite having received a request to return the inventory and refusing to return

or delaying the return of the seller’s inventory.

Amazon’s Fulfillment by Amazon (“FBA”) program is available only to third-party sellers; it does

not apply to Amazon’s first-party sales, where Amazon purchases products from vendors and

resells them in its store. For the FBA program, sellers pay storage fees based on the space that

their inventory takes up in Amazon’s fulfillment centers. Sellers can remove inventory from a

fulfillment center by submitting a removal request, and Amazon’s practice is to stop charging

sellers for storage within a day of receiving a removal request, regardless of whether Amazon

continues to store the inventory.

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APPENDIX A

Amazon Privacy Notice

Last updated: January 1, 2020. To see prior version, click here.

We know that you care how information about you is used and shared, and we appreciate your trust that we will

do so carefully and sensibly. This Privacy Notice describes how Amazon.com and its affiliates (collectively

“Amazon”) collect and process your personal information through Amazon websites, devices, products, services,

online and physical stores, and applications that reference this Privacy Notice (together “Amazon Services”). By

using Amazon Services, you are consenting to the practices described in this Privacy Notice.

• What Personal Information About Customers Does Amazon Collect?

• For What Purposes Does Amazon Use Your Personal Information?

• What About Cookies and Other Identifiers?

• Does Amazon Share Your Personal Information?

• How Secure Is Information About Me?

• What About Advertising?

• What Information Can I Access?

• What Choices Do I Have?

• Are Children Allowed to Use Amazon Services?

• EU-US and Swiss-US Privacy Shield

• California Consumer Privacy Act

• Conditions of Use, Notices, and Revisions

• Related Practices and Information

• Examples of Information Collected

What Personal Information About Customers Does Amazon Collect?

We collect your personal information in order to provide and continually improve our products and services.

Here are the types of personal information we collect:

• Information You Give Us: We receive and store any information you provide in relation to Amazon Services.

Click here to see examples of what we collect. You can choose not to provide certain information, but then

you might not be able to take advantage of many of our Amazon Services.

• Automatic Information: We automatically collect and store certain types of information about your use of

Amazon Services, including information about your interaction with content and services available through

Amazon Services. Like many websites, we use "cookies" and other unique identifiers, and we obtain certain

types of information when your web browser or device accesses Amazon Services and other content served

by or on behalf of Amazon on other websites. Click here to see examples of what we collect.

• Information from Other Sources: We might receive information about you from other sources, such as

updated delivery and address information from our carriers, which we use to correct our records and deliver

your next purchase more easily. Click here to see additional examples of the information we receive.

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For What Purposes Does Amazon Use Your Personal Information?

We use your personal information to operate, provide, develop, and improve the products and services that we

offer our customers. These purposes include:

• Purchase and delivery of products and services. We use your personal information to take and handle

orders, deliver products and services, process payments, and communicate with you about orders, products

and services, and promotional offers.

• Provide, troubleshoot, and improve Amazon Services. We use your personal information to provide

functionality, analyze performance, fix errors, and improve the usability and effectiveness of the Amazon

Services.

• Recommendations and personalization. We use your personal information to recommend features,

products, and services that might be of interest to you, identify your preferences, and personalize your

experience with Amazon Services.

• Provide voice, image and camera services. When you use our voice, image and camera services, we use your

voice input, images, videos, and other personal information to respond to your requests, provide the

requested service to you, and improve our services. For more information about Alexa voice services

, click here.

• Comply with legal obligations. In certain cases, we collect and use your personal information to comply with

laws. For instance, we collect from sellers information regarding place of establishment and bank account

information for identity verification and other purposes.

• Communicate with you. We use your personal information to communicate with you in relation to Amazon

Services via different channels (e.g., by phone, e-mail, chat).

• Advertising. We use your personal information to display interest-based ads for features, products, and

services that might be of interest to you. We do not use information that personally identifies you to display

interest-based ads. To learn more, please read our Interest-Based Ads notice.

• Fraud Prevention and Credit Risks. We use personal information to prevent and detect fraud and abuse in

order to protect the security of our customers, Amazon, and others. We may also use scoring methods to

assess and manage credit risks.

What About Cookies and Other Identifiers?

To enable our systems to recognize your browser or device and to provide and improve Amazon Services, we use

cookies and other identifiers. For more information about cookies and how we use them, please read our Cookies

Notice.

Does Amazon Share Your Personal Information?

Information about our customers is an important part of our business, and we are not in the business of selling our

customers’ personal information to others. We share customers’ personal information only as described below

and with subsidiaries Amazon.com, Inc. controls that either are subject to this Privacy Notice or follow practices at

least as protective as those described in this Privacy Notice.

• Transactions involving Third Parties: We make available to you services, products, applications, or skills

provided by third parties for use on or through Amazon Services. For example, you can order products from

third parties through our stores, download applications from third-party application providers from our App

Store, and enable third-party skills through our Alexa services. We also offer services or sell product lines

jointly with third-party businesses, such as co-branded credit cards. You can tell when a third party is involved

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in your transactions, and we share customers’ personal information related to those transactions with that

third party.

• Third-Party Service Providers: We employ other companies and individuals to perform functions on our

behalf. Examples include fulfilling orders for products or services, delivering packages, sending postal mail

and e-mail, removing repetitive information from customer lists, analyzing data, providing marketing

assistance, providing search results and links (including paid listings and links), processing payments,

transmitting content, scoring, assessing and managing credit risk, and providing customer service. These

third-party service providers have access to personal information needed to perform their functions, but may

not use it for other purposes.

• Business Transfers: As we continue to develop our business, we might sell or buy other businesses or

services. In such transactions, customer information generally is one of the transferred business assets but

remains subject to the promises made in any pre-existing Privacy Notice (unless, of course, the customer

consents otherwise). Also, in the unlikely event that Amazon.com, Inc. or substantially all of its assets are

acquired, customer information will of course be one of the transferred assets.

• Protection of Amazon and Others: We release account and other personal information when we believe

release is appropriate to comply with the law; enforce or apply our Conditions of Use and other agreements;

or protect the rights, property, or safety of Amazon, our users, or others. This includes exchanging

information with other companies and organizations for fraud protection and credit risk reduction.

Other than as set out above, you will receive notice when personal information about you might be shared with

third parties, and you will have an opportunity to choose not to share the information.

How Secure Is Information About Me?

We design our systems with your security and privacy in mind.

• We work to protect the security of your personal information during transmission by using encryption

protocols and software.

• We follow the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) when handling credit card data.

• We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards in connection with the collection, storage, and

disclosure of personal customer information. Our security procedures mean that we may occasionally request

proof of identity before we disclose personal information to you.

• Our devices offer security features to protect them against unauthorized access and loss of data. You can

control these features and configure them based on your needs. Click here for more information on how to

manage the security settings of your device.

• It is important for you to protect against unauthorized access to your password and to your computers,

devices, and applications. Be sure to sign off when finished using a shared computer. Click here for more

information on how to sign off.

What About Advertising?

• Third-Party Advertisers and Links to Other Websites: Amazon Services may include third-party advertising

and links to other websites and apps. Third-party advertising partners may collect information about you

when you interact with their content, advertising, and services. For more information about third-party

advertising at Amazon, including interest-based ads, please read our Interest-Based Ads policy. To adjust your

advertising preferences, please go to the Advertising Preferences page.

• Use of Third-Party Advertising Services: We provide ad companies with information that allows them to

serve you with more useful and relevant Amazon ads and to measure their effectiveness. We never share

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your name or other information that directly identifies you when we do this. Instead, we use an advertising

identifier like a cookie or other device identifier. For example, if you have already downloaded one of our

apps, we will share your advertising identifier and data about that event so that you will not be served an ad

to download the app again. Some ad companies also use this information to serve you relevant ads from

other advertisers. You can learn more about how to opt-out of interest-based advertising by going to

the Advertising Preferences page.

What Information Can I Access?

You can access your information, including your name, address, payment options, profile information, Prime

membership, household settings, and purchase history in the "Your Account" section of the website. Click here for

a list of examples that you can access.

What Choices Do I Have?

If you have any questions as to how we collect and use your personal information, please contact our Customer

Service . Many of our Amazon Services also include settings that provide you with options as to how your

information is being used.

• As described above, you can choose not to provide certain information, but then you might not be able to

take advantage of many of the Amazon Services.

• You can add or update certain information on pages such as those referenced in What Information Can I

Access?. When you update information, we usually keep a copy of the prior version for our records.

• If you do not want to receive e-mail or other communications from us, please adjust your Customer

Communication Preferences . If you don’t want to receive in-app notifications from us, please adjust your

notification settings in the app or device.

• If you do not want to see interest-based ads, please adjust your Advertising Preferences .

• The Help feature on most browsers and devices will tell you how to prevent your browser or device from

accepting new cookies or other identifiers, how to have the browser notify you when you receive a new

cookie, or how to block cookies altogether. Because cookies and identifiers allow you to take advantage of

some essential features of Amazon Services, we recommend that you leave them turned on. For instance, if

you block or otherwise reject our cookies, you will not be able to add items to your Shopping Cart, proceed to

Checkout, or use any Services that require you to Sign in. For more information about cookies and other

identifiers, see our Cookies Notice .

• If you want to browse our websites without linking the browsing history to your account, you may do so by

logging out of your account here and blocking cookies on your browser.

• You will also be able to opt out of certain other types of data usage by updating your settings on the

applicable Amazon website (e.g., in "Manage Your Content and Devices"), device, or application. For more

information click here . Most non-Amazon devices also provide users with the ability to change device

permissions (e.g., disable/access location services, contacts). For most devices, these controls are located in

the device's settings menu. If you have questions about how to change your device permissions on devices

manufactured by third parties, we recommend you contact your mobile service carrier or your device

manufacturer.

• If you are a seller, you can add or update certain information in Seller Central , update your account

information by accessing your Seller Account Information , and adjust your e-mail or other communications

you receive from us by updating your Notification Preferences .

• If you are an author, you can add or update the information you have provided in the Author

Portal and Author Central by accessing your accounts in the Author Portal and Author Central, respectively.

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In addition, to the extent required by applicable law, you may have the right to request access to or delete your

personal data. If you wish to do any of these things, please contact Customer Service . Depending on your data

choices, certain services may be limited or unavailable.

Are Children Allowed to Use Amazon Services?

Amazon does not sell products for purchase by children. We sell children's products for purchase by adults. If you

are under 18, you may use Amazon Services only with the involvement of a parent or guardian. We do not

knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13 without the consent of the child's parent

or guardian. For more information, please see our Children's Privacy Disclosure .

EU-US and Swiss-US Privacy Shield

Amazon.com, Inc. participates in the EU-US and Swiss-US Privacy Shield frameworks. Click here to learn more.

California Consumer Privacy Act

Click here to read additional disclosures required under the California Consumer Privacy Act.

Conditions of Use, Notices, and Revisions

If you choose to use Amazon Services, your use and any dispute over privacy is subject to this Notice and

our Conditions of Use , including limitations on damages, resolution of disputes, and application of the law of the

state of Washington. If you have any concern about privacy at Amazon, please contact us with a thorough

description, and we will try to resolve it. Our business changes constantly, and our Privacy Notice will change also.

You should check our websites frequently to see recent changes. Unless stated otherwise, our current Privacy

Notice applies to all information that we have about you and your account. We stand behind the promises we

make, however, and will never materially change our policies and practices to make them less protective of

customer information collected in the past without the consent of affected customers.

Related Practices and Information

• Conditions of Use

• Seller Program Policies

• Help Department

• Most Recent Purchases

• Your Profile and Community Guidelines

Examples of Information Collected

Information You Give Us When You Use Amazon Services

You provide information to us when you:

• search or shop for products or services in our stores;

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• add or remove an item from your cart, or place an order through or use Amazon Services;

• download, stream, view, or use content on a device or through a service or application on a device;

• provide information in Your Account (and you might have more than one if you have used more than one e-

mail address or mobile number when shopping with us) or Your Profile ;

• talk to or otherwise interact with our Alexa Voice service;

• upload your contacts;

• configure your settings on, provide data access permissions for, or interact with an Amazon device or service;

• provide information in your Seller Account , Kindle Direct Publishing account , Developer account , or any

other account we make available that allows you to develop or offer software, goods, or services to Amazon

customers;

• offer your products or services on or through Amazon Services;

• communicate with us by phone, e-mail, or otherwise;

• complete a questionnaire, a support ticket, or a contest entry form;

• upload or stream images, videos or other files to Prime Photos, Amazon Drive, or other Amazon Services;

• use our services such as Prime Video;

• compile Playlists, Watchlists, Wish Lists or other gift registries;

• participate in Discussion Boards or other community features;

• provide and rate Reviews ;

• specify a Special Occasion Reminder; or

• employ Product Availability Alerts , such as Available to Order Notifications.

As a result of those actions, you might supply us with such information as:

• identifying information such as your name, address, and phone numbers;

• payment information;

• your age;

• your location information;

• your IP address;

• people, addresses and phone numbers listed in your Addresses;

• e-mail addresses of your friends and other people;

• content of reviews and e-mails to us;

• personal description and photograph in Your Profile ;

• voice recordings when you speak to Alexa;

• images and videos collected or stored in connection with Amazon Services;

• information and documents regarding identity, including Social Security and driver's license numbers;

• corporate and financial information;

• credit history information; and

• device log files and configurations, including Wi-Fi credentials, if you choose to automatically synchronize

them with your other Amazon devices.

Automatic Information

Examples of the information we collect and analyze include:

• the internet protocol (IP) address used to connect your computer to the internet;

• login, e-mail address, and password;

• the location of your device or computer;

• content interaction information, such as content downloads, streams, and playback details, including

duration and number of simultaneous streams and downloads, and network details for streaming and

download quality, including information about your internet service provider;

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• device metrics such as when a device is in use, application usage, connectivity data, and any errors or event

failures;

• Amazon Services metrics (e.g., the occurrences of technical errors, your interactions with service features and

content, your settings preferences and backup information, location of your device running an application,

information about uploaded images and files such as the file name, dates, times and location of your images);

• version and time zone settings;

• purchase and content use history, which we sometimes aggregate with similar information from other

customers to create features like Top Sellers ;

• the full Uniform Resource Locator (URL) clickstream to, through, and from our websites, including date and

time; products and content you viewed or searched for; page response times, download errors, length of

visits to certain pages, and page interaction information (such as scrolling, clicks, and mouse-overs);

• phone numbers used to call our customer service number; and

• images or videos when you shop in our stores, or stores using Amazon Services.

We may also use device identifiers, cookies, and other technologies on devices, applications, and our web pages to

collect browsing, usage, or other technical information.

Information from Other Sources

Examples of information we receive from other sources include:

• updated delivery and address information from our carriers or other third parties, which we use to correct

our records and deliver your next purchase or communication more easily;

• account information, purchase or redemption information, and page-view information from some merchants

with which we operate co-branded businesses or for which we provide technical, fulfillment, advertising, or

other services;

• information about your interactions with products and services offered by our subsidiaries;

• search results and links, including paid listings (such as Sponsored Links);

• information about internet-connected devices and services linked with Alexa; and

• credit history information from credit bureaus, which we use to help prevent and detect fraud and to offer

certain credit or financial services to some customers.

Information You Can Access

Examples of information you can access through Amazon Services include:

• status of recent orders (including subscriptions);

• your complete order history;

• personally identifiable information (including name, e-mail, password, and address book);

• payment settings (including payment card information, promotional certificate and gift card balances, and 1-

Click settings);

• e-mail notification settings (including Product Availability Alerts, Delivers, Special Occasion Reminders and

newsletters);

• recommendations and the products you recently viewed that are the basis for recommendations (including

Recommended for You and Improve Your Recommendations);

• shopping lists and gift registries (including Wish Lists and Baby and Wedding Registries);

• your content, devices, services, and related settings, and communications and personalized advertising

preferences;

• content that you recently viewed;

• voice recordings associated with your account;

• Your Profile (including your product Reviews, Recommendations, Reminders and personal profile);

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• If you are a seller, you can access your account and other information, and adjust your communications

preferences, by updating your account in Seller Central .

• If you are an author, you can access your account and other information, and update your accounts, on

the Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) or Author Central website, as applicable.

• If you are a developer participating in our Developer Services Program, you can access your account and

other information, and adjust your communications preferences, by updating your accounts in the Developer

Services Portal.