In recent weeks, a flood of videos taken from Amazon truck surveillance cameras have been posted on Reddit, raising new concerns about driver privacy. being monitored for all your turns.
As first reported Vicetwo voices can be heard off-camera in a video posted to r/Amazon DSP Drivers on July 3, commenting on an Amazon driver interacting with a customer’s dog. “She had a little guest with her today,” an offscreen voice said. The video is innocent enough, but it violates Amazon’s own privacy policy regarding its in-vehicle camera technology.
Drivers have raised concerns about their privacy since these cameras were installed, likening the experience to being watched by “Eldest brother.” Similar surveillance systems were a trading point in negotiations between UPS and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union earlier this month, and the courier company has now tentatively agreed to to turn off their cameras in the vehicle.
The video from July 3 appears to have been recorded on a smartphone, showing surveillance footage of a van playing on a PC monitor in an office resembling that of a delivery service partner (DSP) from Amazon, courier companies that generally operate outside of Amazon. warehouses and handle door-to-door deliveries for the retail giant. A green box representing the van’s camera AI tracking system can be seen on surveillance footage tracking the driver’s movements around the vehicle, along with a time code and stationary “0MPH” speed marker.
It’s just one example of the surveillance on the Amazon truck that has been posted on Reddit in recent weeks. In several cases, it appears that these videos, some of which have been pulled straight of the camera system in the van – are not being published by the driver depicted in the images, and it is not entirely clear how these cartels gained access to the recordings.
Amazon began installing the AI-enabled cameras, supplied by Netradyne Driveri, in 2021 to analyze drivers as they drive and deliver packages. Amazon delivery drivers were later forced to sign a biometric consent form to allow the company to collect information such as photos, vehicle location, speed, acceleration, “potential traffic violations” and “potentially risky driver behavior.” or lose their jobs. Surveillance cameras record on the device “100% of the time,” and the AI system uploads specific clips to Amazon’s or its partners’ “secure servers” when it detects a class of security-related issues or opportunities to improve services. maps and routes. . Uploads can also occur when a request is made by Amazon, a DSP, or a controller.
from Amazon Privacy Policy for your vehicle’s camera technology claims that recorded images are available to DSPs through a “secure portal” and that it only shares such information with other Amazon entities that have approved access. Amazon claims that this information is protected by “reasonable technical and organizational security measures.”
“Delivery service partners have access to the Netradyne portal, where the vehicle’s cameras automatically upload video content when there is a security incident,” Amazon spokeswoman Simone Griffin said. Vice. “Delivery service partners can choose to share the video footage with their employees. However, for privacy reasons, posting content externally is a violation of program policies.”
