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The Man Amazon Erased (www.tabletmag.com)

Jackson soon discovered that Amazon suspended his account because a Black delivery driver who’d come to his house the previous day had reported hearing racist remarks from his video doorbell. In a brief email sent to Jackson at 3 a.m., the company explained how it unilaterally placed all of his linked devices and services on hold as it commenced an internal investigation.

The accusations baffled Jackson. He and his family are Black. When he reviewed the doorbell’s footage, he saw that nobody was home at the time of the delivery. At a loss for what could have prompted the accusation of racism, he suspected the driver had misinterpreted the doorbell’s automated response: “Excuse me, can I help you?”

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[-] Fredselfish@lemmy.world 269 points 2 years ago

This should be read and understood by everyone and everyone needs to cancel their smart devices from Amazon. The company needs to be broken up.

[-] Crackhappy@lemmy.world 20 points 2 years ago

I already did this by never getting smart devices.

[-] Wodge@lemmy.world 38 points 2 years ago

It's increasingly difficult to get a TV nowadays that isn't "smart".

[-] Brunbrun6766@lemmy.world 28 points 2 years ago

Don't connect it to the Internet

[-] brygphilomena@lemmy.world 7 points 2 years ago

That's easier said than done. I've had TVs that wouldn't work unless TOS were accepted and I've had TVs scan for open networks.

I'm at the point of opening TVs to disconnect the wireless antennas.

[-] 520@kbin.social 5 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Remember that if a TV is connecting to random WiFi spots, it is breaking hacking laws if it logs into someone else's unsecured WiFi where you don't have permission to join. Permission, not security measures like passwords, is the key part that defines the legality or otherwise of what you are doing

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[-] ironeagl@sh.itjust.works 8 points 2 years ago

I ended up just getting a big monitor.

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[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago

I have two TVs. One is an small 720p set we keep in the bedroom with a connected Chromecast, and the other is a 1080p "smart" TV, but they made the mistake of building a Chromecast into it, so we literally never use the "smart" features and just cast from a phone or computer.

I don't care if that's "low resolution." I grew up with CRT TVs. 1080p is terrific as far as I'm concerned.

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[-] Buelldozer@lemmy.today 14 points 2 years ago

Smart Devices are fine. Buy devices that use Z-Wave or ZigBee and run them with something like Home Assistant. All local processing, no internet needed.

[-] rdyoung@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

I have a couple of smart bulbs and switches and a couple of wyze cams around but I don't want or need a smart doorbell, thermostat, etc. I like being able to turn off our bedroom light from my watch or phone and the smart switches work well for devices that need to be plugged in where the actual power cable is hard to reach.

[-] TWeaK@lemm.ee 12 points 2 years ago

The company needs to be broken up.

Because that solution worked so well in the telecomms industry.

We need a solution, but breaking up businesses isn't the only one - and arguably isn't a good solution when they can more or less carry on with the same practices under more complex ownership structures. A better solution is regulation and enforcement. The government is supposed to regulate to level the playing field between consumers and big business.

[-] centof@lemm.ee 11 points 2 years ago

The government is supposed to regulate to level the playing field between consumers and big business.

Too bad our regulation framework is captured by the same people who own those companies and their friends.

[-] legoshark@lemmy.world 8 points 2 years ago

I think we need new legislation that prevents companies with a valuation over a certain inflation-adjusted threshold, say $10 billion, from participating in mergers. Then split up the big troublemakers. This way, they can’t just buy each other out until there are only a few left. They have to innovate and compete to keep growing.

[-] ImpossibilityBox@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago

I would love to get rid of my smart devices from amazon/Google but I have yet to find a single plug and play device that allows me to control all my lights, plant humidifiers, aquariums, TV, and whole house music by voice that isn't from them or even better FOSS.

this post was submitted on 24 Sep 2023
597 points (97.2% liked)

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