115
submitted 10 months ago by 0x815@feddit.de to c/technology@beehaw.org

The new excerpts unveiled Thursday allege executives at the e-commerce giant intentionally deleted communication by using a feature on the popular app Signal that makes messages disappear. By doing this, the FTC said Amazon “destroyed more than two years” worth of communications from June 2019 to “at least early 2022” despite instructions it gave Amazon not to do so.

In a prepared statement Amazon spokesperson Tim Doyle called the FTC’s claim “baseless and irresponsible.”

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] madmaurice@discuss.tchncs.de 11 points 10 months ago

Why would the FTC even use Signal for communication?

[-] LallyLuckFarm@beehaw.org 51 points 10 months ago

Amazon employees were using signal to coordinate anticonsumer policies and then destroyed the records, which the FTC had ordered them to preserve. At least, that's how I read it.

[-] douglasg14b@beehaw.org 26 points 10 months ago

So..... Throw them in jail? Make them accountable? Revoke the companies ability to do business till the records are provided?

Then again, that's just fantasy because the laws don't matter if you're Rick/big enough anymore.

[-] LallyLuckFarm@beehaw.org 9 points 10 months ago

I would like to non-sarcastically point you to my top level comment in this thread ❤️

[-] admiralteal@kbin.social 11 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Genuine question since the article doesn't mention it -- how does the AP know conversations were destroyed? I would assume a properly-designed, E2E encrypted app like Signal wouldn't leave obvious evidence of shredded conversations.

My guess is it is based on testimony from some of the involved parties that they had these conversations and then later the chat histories were gone? But I'd like to know more.

Moreover, do we know the conversations were destroyed AFTER they were ordered to preserve them and not just routinely destroyed?

[-] LallyLuckFarm@beehaw.org 4 points 10 months ago

My answer would be that the AP is just reporting the claims made by the two parties, rather than knowing that they were destroyed - that's the usual approach from the AP. I agree there's likely no "smoldering trail" in any logs that an encrypted system like Signal might be able to furnish, but I also am not read up on what kind of reporting requirements they might have. If they have to do something like SMS carriers where "a message was sent at x time on y date" logs exist then there's investigatory potential. But again, not really my strong suit.

There's probably some testimony or interview that we're not privy to that lends credence to these claims by the FTC, hopefully it will be made public as their efforts progress.

Moreover, do we know the conversations were destroyed AFTER they were ordered to preserve them and not just routinely destroyed?

Can't say. My own anticapitalist leanings notwithstanding, none of the reporting on Amazon's corporate behaviors would lead me to believe that they are pro-consumer or unwilling to break the law in furtherance of avoiding a heftier punishment.

[-] kitsuneofinari@yiffit.net 16 points 10 months ago

The FTC didn't use Signal, Amazon did though for internal communications. When FTC started their investigation, Amazon quickly used the features of signal to delete all their internal communications because they were too spicy for the public and the FTC.

[-] sqgl@beehaw.org 4 points 10 months ago

I would have thought the FTC would know how to save the conversations.

[-] madmaurice@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 10 months ago

Oh... I somehow understood the article as if Amazon used Signal to communicate with the FTC... Yeah that makes more sense...

this post was submitted on 04 Nov 2023
115 points (100.0% liked)

Technology

37573 readers
364 users here now

A nice place to discuss rumors, happenings, innovations, and challenges in the technology sphere. We also welcome discussions on the intersections of technology and society. If it’s technological news or discussion of technology, it probably belongs here.

Remember the overriding ethos on Beehaw: Be(e) Nice. Each user you encounter here is a person, and should be treated with kindness (even if they’re wrong, or use a Linux distro you don’t like). Personal attacks will not be tolerated.

Subcommunities on Beehaw:


This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS