Editing Amazon

{{CompanyCargo
| Founded       = 1994
| Industry      = Technology
| Logo          = Amazon.png
| ParentCompany = 
| Type          = Public
| Website       = https://amazon.com/
| Description   = 
}}
[[wikipedia:Amazon_(company)|'''Amazon.com, Inc.''']] is a global leader in e-commerce, cloud computing, and digital streaming founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos. Originally launched as an online bookstore, Amazon quickly expanded into a marketplace offering a wide range of products, including - but not limited to - electronics, clothing, household goods, and groceries. Today, it is one of the largest companies in the world, with a dominant presence in retail, technology, and logistics.

In addition to its e-commerce platform, Amazon is a major player in cloud computing through Amazon Web Services (AWS), which provides cloud infrastructure and services to businesses globally. The company also offers a variety of digital services, such as Amazon Prime - which provides streaming video and music - and Alexa; its voice-activated virtual assistant. Amazon has also developed consumer products like the Kindle e-reader, Fire tablets, and Echo smart speakers.

Amazon has faced significant scrutiny and criticism, particularly concerning its treatment of workers, marketplace practices, data privacy issues, and its impact on small businesses. It has been involved in various regulatory and legal challenges related to anti-competitive behavior, safety, and consumer protection, with calls for increased oversight on its business operations.

==Consumer impact summary==
{{Placeholder box|Overview of concerns that arise from the company's conduct regarding (if applicable):
* User Freedom
* User Privacy
* Business Model
* Market Control}}

====Business Model====
Amazon gets a majority of its revenue from seller fees and Amazon Prime memberships. In addition, Amazon has a "subscribe and save" option for some products. With this, the page to manage these subscriptions is obfuscated for the user, intentional or not.

<gallery>
File:Amazon Subscribe and Save Example.jpg|No "subscribe and save" option available
File:Amazon Subscribe and Save Example (1).jpg|The option appears in the "buy again" section.
</gallery>

==Controversies==
Amazon has been involved in numerous controversies, from dangerous products to anti-competitive practices. Below is a comprehensive listing of every relevant controversy documented here on this wiki: <!-- Need a better preamble here --><!-- I added a bit to hopefully improve the preamble. (shingo)  -->
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
!Controversy
!Year
!Background info
!Aftermath
!Related article
!Related video(s)
|-
|Amazon removing kindle books from old devices.
|2025
|As of May 26, 2025 Kindle for Android app versions released prior to March 2022 (v8.51 or earlier) no longer support Kindle content downloads.
|Old android devices (such as Galaxy Tab 4) that are not compatible with Android OS v.9.0+ are no longer able to download Kindle ebooks. Furthermore, Amazon 'forcibly' removed any ebooks downloaded to the kindle app on those devices the next time they connected to the internet, without warning that this would occur.
|https://www.androidauthority.com/kindle-app-drm-loophole-3554844/
|
|-
|Amazon removing ability to download Kindle books
|2025
|Starting on February 26, 2025, Amazon removed a feature from its website allowing users to download purchased books to a computer and then copy them manually to a Kindle over USB.
|Starting February 26, 2025, the ‘Download & Transfer via USB’ option will no longer be available.
|[[Amazon Kindle removes download feature of purchased books]]
|[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMoCzeGnIss '''Amazon are changing the way you own your Kindle books - you have 10 days to react''']
<ref group="Video References">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfcoUdWCB9M</ref>
|-
|Amazon sells lethal litterboxes
|2024
|Amazon sold knockoffs of Whisker brand "Litter-Robot" litterboxes that were designed in a unsafe way that led to the deaths of multiple cats, and posed a danger to young children.
|The responsible knockoff product was delisted, yet many other variants of the same product exist on the site.
|
|<ref group="Video References">https://youtube.com/watch?v=p6Y19nSPvC4</ref>
|-
|Amazon adds ads to premium subscription
|2023 – Present
|Amazon added advertisements to previously ad free subscriptions for Prime Video and Echo Show frames.
|Continues to occur.
|
|<ref group="Video References">https://youtube.com/watch?v=RSi6g5-xUaY</ref> <ref group="Video References">https://youtube.com/watch?v=ua_QL9YysHQ</ref> <ref group="Video References">https://youtube.com/watch?v=VLFpU9aqtXc</ref>
|-
|Amazon allows fraudulent listings
|2014 – Present
|
|Fraudulent listings continue to be added, some removed.
|[[Amazon allows fraudulent product page after manual review! Deep dive on Amazons support of scams]]
|<ref group="Video References">https://youtube.com/watch?v=qZCMislL6_I</ref> <ref group="Video References">https://youtube.com/watch?v=7trdHLtsFKM</ref> <ref group="Video References">https://youtube.com/watch?v=B90_SNNbcoU</ref> <ref group="Video References">https://youtube.com/watch?v=DiKflg8Uko4</ref> <ref group="Video References">https://youtube.com/watch?v=y83BS_mK9GE</ref> <ref group="Video References">https://youtube.com/watch?v=Rhb0ID9z4aE</ref> <ref group="Video References">https://youtube.com/watch?v=XZNn2mO3dNQ</ref> <ref group="Video References">https://youtube.com/watch?v=C0YNLWdj9sQ</ref>
|-
|Amazon allows sellers to bribe customers for better ratings
|2016 – Present
|Amazon sellers give customers gift cards in exchange for positive product reviews; Amazon does nothing to stop this.
|Continues to occur.
|[[Amazon's history of seller bribery]]
|<ref group="Video References">https://youtube.com/watch?v=eS698R-bxuc</ref>
|-
|Amazon has bad marketplace algorithms
|2023 – Present
|
|Algorithms still seem to be nonbeneficial.
|
|<ref group="Video References">https://youtube.com/watch?v=tAaSXz8CBMc</ref>
|-
|Amazon trashes refurbished market
|2022–2023
|
|Unknown
|
|<ref group="Video References">https://youtube.com/watch?v=h3qgbvq2SWs</ref> <ref group="Video References">https://youtube.com/watch?v=qzUXmeaZsIQ</ref>
|-
|Amazon cancels associate account after recent negative media coverage, with a different reason
|2023
|
|Unknown
|
|<ref group="Video References">https://youtube.com/watch?v=Kcohq313q00</ref>
|-
|Amazon wrongfully suspends account of home owner
|2023
|A home owner was locked out of their Amazon account for nearly a week, after a delivery driver from Amazon misheard an automated message from their Eufy doorbell.
|Account reinstated.
|[[Amazon locks home owner out of Amazon account over allegation by Amazon delivery driver|Amazon locks home owner out of amazon account over allegation by amazon delivery driver]]
|<ref group="Video References">https://youtube.com/watch?v=SyEgD-5GK9c</ref> <ref group="Video References">https://youtube.com/watch?v=NfiIXooD77s</ref>
|-
|Amazon engages in anticompetitive behavior
|2021–2022
|
|Unknown
|
|<ref group="Video References">https://youtube.com/watch?v=YBJoSGWdP0Y</ref> <ref group="Video References">https://youtube.com/watch?v=XCLx4mVJ4gk</ref>
|-
|Amazon sells fake electrical fuses
|2023<!-- Year may be wrong, just following the video release year -->
|Fuses are being sold that do not blow when supplied more power than it is intended to handle, which is a major safety risk.
|These fuses are still being sold to this day.
|[[Amazon allows fraudulent product page after manual review! Deep dive on Amazons support of scams]]
|<ref group="Video References">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B90_SNNbcoU</ref>
|-
|Amazon PhotosPlus discontinuation
|2024
|
|Since September 2024, it is no longer possible to use the Amazon Echo Show 8 as a digital frame without advertisements.
|[[Amazon PhotosPlus Discontinuation]]
|
|-
|Amazon uses [[dark patterns]] for its premium subscription
|2023 – Present
|Systematically designing the cancelling steps to be complicated and long; using tricks to kidnap users into the subscription.<ref>{{cite web |date=2023-06-21 |title=FTC Takes Action Against Amazon for Enrolling Consumers in Amazon Prime Without Consent and Sabotaging Their Attempts to Cancel |url=https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/06/ftc-takes-action-against-amazon-enrolling-consumers-amazon-prime-without-consent-sabotaging-their |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250129015417/https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/06/ftc-takes-action-against-amazon-enrolling-consumers-amazon-prime-without-consent-sabotaging-their |archive-date=2025-01-29 |website=Federal Trade Commission |url-status=live}}</ref> See "Project Illiad".
|Continues to occur.
|
|
|-
|Amazon removes option to lend Kindle e-books
|2022
|E-books marked with "lending enabled" could be lent to other Kindle users for a period of time during which the title is unavailable to the sender.
|Since August 2022, it is not possible to borrow Kindle books.
|
|[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAvFmnuZZMI '''Amazon Discontinues Lending Kindle e-Books''']
|-
|Amazon removes option not to send voice recordings from Echo devices
|2025
|In March 2025, Echo customers with the option "Do Not Send Voice Recordings" enabled received an e-mail that local processing will no longer be supported on their device.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-18 |title=TechLinked – Microsoft’s Big Oopsie – Echo voice recordings, Gemini watermarks |url=https://youtu.be/DhXH83O6pXc?t=268 |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=YouTube – TechLinked}}</ref>
|
|[[Amazon Echo changes terms of voice usage]]
|
|-
|Amazon discontinues Appstore for Android devices
|2025
|On August 20, 2025, Amazon will remove Android devices' access to the Amazon Appstore.
|Android apps downloaded through the Amazon Appstore will cease to function.
|[https://www.androidauthority.com/amazon-shuts-down-android-app-store-3528170/ Amazon pulls the plug on its Android app store that you never used anyway]
|
|-
|Amazon fights against unionization
|1994 - Present
|Ever since its creation, Amazon has demonstrated anti-union efforts. This has even gone to the point of being in the training videos for employees, invoking fear in any who resist this corporate hold.
|
|
|[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRpwVwFxyk4 Amazon trains against unionizing]
[https://newlaborforum.cuny.edu/2021/11/15/crushing-unions-by-any-means-necessary-how-amazons-blistering-anti-union-campaign-won-in-bessemer-alabama/ Article on Anti-unionism of Amazon]
|-
|Amazon removes kindle books from user libraries.
|2009
|In 2009, Amazon removed 2 illegally published books, Animal Farm and 1984, from sale and user libraries, along with any notes and annotations made by the reader. Others have also reported missing books from their libraries.
|Those affected have been given refunds and there haven't been any further documented cases of books being removed from readers' libraries, although user reports are still prevalent.<ref>{{Cite web |last=A |first=Georgie |date=13 Nov 2022 |title=Bought books removed by Amazon. |url=https://www.amazonforum.com/s/question/0D56Q0000ALx14HSQR/bought-books-removed-by-amazon |url-status=live |access-date=12 Aug 2025 |website=Amazon}}</ref>
|[https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/technology/companies/18amazon.html Amazon Erases Orwell Books From Kindle]
|
|}

==Products==<!-- Considering the sheer amount of products Amazon has, we should consider the table format -->

===Amazon Kindle (2007–Present)===
Amazon has progressively removed options for products purchased through the Kindle, effectively changing the meaning of purchases and ownership. It first removed the ability of users to lend e-books to one another, and later removed the ability to download purchased e-books to a computer.

===Amazon PhotosPlus (2023–2024)===
Amazon sold physical devices that could displaying photos stored in its Amazon Photos cloud storage through its PhotosPlus service. Less than one year later, it cancelled the service, which [[Retroactively amended purchase|changed the functionality]] of the devices, including showing advertisements every few hours.

===Amazon Prime (2005–Present)===
Amazon uses [[dark patterns]] for its subscription services, including tricking users into subscribing and making it very complicated to cancel.

===Amazon Appstore (2011–Present)===
Amazon Appstore is the primary app store for Amazon's Fire devices, and is also available on other Android devices. On August 20, 2025, Amazon will remove access to the app store for all non-Fire devices. All apps installed from the Amazon Appstore will cease to function. Fire devices will continue to be able to access the Amazon Appstore. As of July 2025, there has been no mention of restitution for users who may have purchased paid apps through the Amazon Appstore.

===Amazon Echo (2014–Present)===

===Amazon Alexa (2013–Present)===

===All Louis Rossmann videos covering Amazon===<!-- These references should be updated to either: A. Use the title of the video B. Summarize the video -->

<references group="Video References" />

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Amazon]]
[[Category:Articles in need of additional work]]