Kim James 
SEATTLE: Several dozen activists chanted and held banners on July 15 outside Amazon’s Seattle headquarters calling on the business enterprise to stop providing generation to US authorities immigration government, in certainly one of several strain campaigns centered on the trade large all through its Prime Day summer sale. Jennifer Lee of the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington pointed to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) corporation’s requests to carry out face surveillance searches on images in nation driver’s license databases in Washington and other states. She stated that Amazon had pitched the company on its facial reputation technology, Rekognition.
“If Amazon keeps collaborating with ICE, it’ll take gasoline deportation efforts, which terrorize immigrant communities for the duration of the country, ensuing in endless errors, deportations without due process, and elevated racial profiling,” Lee stated at a rally in front of the Amazon Spheres. “Our faces should not be weaponized to surveil and oppress immigrant communities,” she introduced to cheers from a few dozen protesters from agencies together with La Resistencia, MiJente Seattle, and Puget Sound Sage. The activists also added a petition to Amazon they said turned into support with the aid of more than 270,000 humans.
An Amazon Web Services (AWS) spokesperson reiterated an earlier declaration that “groups and government firms want to apply current and new era responsibly and lawfully.” The organization recently joined its cloud computing competitors Microsoft and Google is calling for countrywide law of facial popularity technology. “There is, in reality, a need for greater clarity from governments on what is an acceptable use of (artificial intelligence) and ramifications for its misuse, and we’ve provided a proposed legislative framework for this,” the spokesperson said.
Amazon says it does now not speak to unique clients without their consent. Meanwhile, in Minnesota, workers at a fulfillment center executed a deliberate strike, believed to be the first at an Amazon facility inside the US. Amazon workers affiliated with the UNI Global Union additionally deliberate Prime Day protest actions in Germany, the UK, Spain, and Poland. Amazon is targeted on executing its income occasion, with a few workers around the Seattle headquarters carrying “Prime Day” T-shirts. Unlike the remaining year, there had been no reported technical system defects slowing down income as of Monday night.
It stays to be visible what, if any, affects the protests and strike movements, in addition to the growing competition, may also have on-call for from customers during the sale, which continues via Tuesday. Amazon affords its Prime Day discounts to reward its most avid clients – individuals who pay US$119 (RM489) for an annual shipping and media subscription – and to attract more subscribers.
Lee and 3 other activists, trailed by using tv cameras, carried a container they said contained a petition signed with the aid of more than 270,000 people throughout the road to Amazon’s newly opened re Invent building. They asked to meet with Andy Jassy, CEO of AWS – who has additionally been underneath strain on this problem from personnel internally – and waited for a time out of doors a protection checkpoint as Amazon employees got here and went.
In 8 other US towns, activists deliberate similar efforts to deliver the petition to Amazon facilities and Jeff Bezos’ New York City domestic. Last week, protesters disrupted an AWS conference with calls at the enterprise to cut ties to ICE. The activists in Seattle, in the end, decided to depart the petition printouts at the building’s primary reception table, returning to the group in the front of the Spheres. – The Seattle Times/Tribune News Service. Read more at https://www.Thestar.Com.My/tech/tech-news/2019/07/18/protesters-petition-amazon-to-forestall-promoting-generation-to-ice/#SZlccC3KBmkCFqFq.99
