Special feature: Amazon's worker surveillance

Amazon monitors the private and public social media groups of its Flex delivery drivers in order to identify those who share negative posts, complain about working conditions, or plan to hold protests against the company, according to a Vice report.

• Some of the posts are then shared with Amazon corporate employees via regular reports, which could help the company fix issues or even halt protests in the early stages.
• Vice gained access to an internal web tool and reports inadvertently left online, which revealed how much Amazon monitors its Flex drivers. The gig hourly freelance employees deliver packages using their own vehicles.
• The surveillance reportedly targets closed Facebook groups, public tweets, and Reddit threads of drivers in the U.S., the U.K., and Spain. Cited examples include private Facebook pages for “Amazon Flex Las Vegas” and “Official Amazon Flex Drivers of Portland.”
• This comes as drivers and warehouse workers have organized strikes in New York, California, and elsewhere to seek higher wages and better benefits. Many are also protesting what they describe as unsafe working conditions during the pandemic. Amazon has fired some workers who led or participated in strikes and has tracked efforts by its Whole Foods workers to unionize via a heat map.

Related:

• Yesterday, Amazon posted and later deleted job postings for two intelligence analysts, who would have been responsible for tracking “labor organizing threats” and other internal/external threats against the company.
• Amazon removed the listings after workers' rights groups and others scrutinized them. Amazon claims the job posts were "not an accurate description of the role," but didn't elaborate.
• A new research paper found that Amazon uses extensive worker surveillance at warehouses and stores to increase employee output, as well as restrict possible union organization and collective action. The company can transfer or move around employees who appear to be leading such efforts, according to the Open Markets Institute report.
• The study lists ways that antitrust enforcers and state and federal lawmakers could limit increasingly pervasive surveillance by companies. You can read the full report here.

Walmart has announced its new subscription-based membership plan Walmart Plus, which will be available on Sept. 15. Walmart Plus membership is priced at $98 per year, or $12.95 a month with a 15-day trial period. The plan is expected to strengthen Walmart in its competition with Amazon.

Perks:

• Unlimited same-day delivery throughout the year for orders above $35. This feature is similar to the Delivery Unlimited feature the retailer currently has – existing subscribers will automatically become Walmart Plus members. 
• Scan & go: Customers can scan the items they purchase in the stores and pay using Walmart Pay (digital wallet) to avoid standing in queues.
• A discount of $0.05 per gallon for fuel purchased at Walmart, Murphy USA, and Murphy Express fuel stations. Sam’s Club stations will be added to the list soon.

The Bigger Picture:

• Walmart’s e-commerce sales contribution to its overall sales increased from 3.9% to 6% (a 97% increase) in the last quarter due to growth in same-day delivery and curbside pickups. However, Amazon’s (ranked no. 1) market share for U.S. online retail is 38.7%, while Walmart (at no. 2) stands at 5.3%. Vox reported that more than half of Walmart’s top spending families have an Amazon Prime membership.

• Walmart also mentioned that it is interested in buying TikTok, as it could help grow its third-party marketplace business.

A version of this story first appeared in yesterday's Inside Business. To receive this newsletter every weekday, sign up here.

Amazon's successes vs. weaknesses

Successes

• Online retail dominance. Amazon.com's sales made up nearly 38% of all U.S. online retail sales last year – a big jump from only 7.7% in 2010. The company Amazon also accounted for nearly 60% of all U.S. e-commerce growth in 2019. In Western Europe, Amazon is the leading online retailer by sales. It's seen its global online net sales jump precipitously since Q1 2017 (see graph above).
• Prime shoppers keep coming back. Prime membership reached a whopping 118 million in the U.S. by March, a jump from 103 million the year prior...

Vulnerabilities

• Delivery delays during the pandemic: Many customers have complained of delays after Amazon had to prioritize essential products when the pandemic first struck. In June, only 64% of online consumers were “extremely” or “very” satisfied compared to 73% in 2019...

Musicians who live stream on Twitch can now link to the Amazon Music streaming app. The goal is to allow musicians – many of whom have been hit hard during the pandemic – another outlet to reach more fans and earn money.

More:

• Once a musician links their Twitch account to Music, their stream will appear on their artist page and notifications are sent to followers when they begin streaming.
• A new "Live" page on Amazon Music also highlights those artists who are streaming live.
• Twitch has experienced rapid growth, with 17.6 million hours streamed in July. The “Music & Performing Arts” category grew 387% YoY.
• Amazon Music, with 55 million subscribers, still trails Apple, which surpassed 60 million subscribers in June 2019, and Spotify, which claims 138 million subscribers.

Related:

• Twitch and Amazon are offering five free video games (worth $98 altogether) to Prime members for a September promo.

The FBI is worried that Amazon Ring users could use the service to watch police and even warn them when officers show up to search their homes. This is according to a leaked report spotted by The Intercept, which found that the FBI is concerned that the camera-equipped smart home devices could reveal officer locations in standoffs, warn users when police are approaching a house, and allow users to capture photos and videos of law enforcement.

More:

• An FBI bulletin states that people could use such IoT devices to hinder investigations and monitor police activity, which it says represents a risk to officers' "present and future safety."
• The FBI cited a 2017 case in New Orleans, where police issued a warrant for a home equipped with a smart doorbell system. The homeowner used the system to contact their neighbor and landlord and may have monitored the police.
• On the flip side, more than 600 law enforcement agencies in the U.S. have partnered with Ring, requesting footage that is sometimes used in investigations.
• Ring has previously shared heat maps with law enforcement that show the number of cameras in various areas. The systems have come under fire by surveillance scholars and digital rights advocates, who worry about Ring's relationships with law enforcement.
• Amazon bought Ring in 2018 for roughly $1b.

Amazon contract delivery workers are hanging smartphones in trees to get more work. The scheme involves a driver placing a "burner" smartphone in a tree near a Whole Foods Market or Amazon delivery center. The burner is synced with their personal device and gives Amazon’s system the impression that the driver is closer to the store than they actually are.

More:

• Drivers say they get more delivery orders when their location is closest to the origin point. 
• Many contract delivery drivers for Amazon are paid per delivery.
• Amazon said it was investigating the matter.

A version of this story first appeared in Inside Transportation.

Quick Hits

• In response to the Digital Services Tax, Big Tech has increased its fees in the U.K. and other European countries. Amazon increased 2% of its third-party seller fees.
• Federal agents are investigating a fourth suspect, who is 16 years old, in connection to July's Twitter hack of accounts belonging to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and others.
• Amazon's updated shopping app is expected to reach all iOS users by the end of this month, followed by an Android release at a later unidentified date.
• Amazon acquired the worldwide streaming rights to the documentary "The Boy from Medellín," a profile of Colombian reggaeton singer J Balvin.
• A fire on the third floor of a future Amazon distribution center in Clay, New York, did not damage the facility, officials said.
• Vault offers online medical visits and personalized treatments for men. Get back to peak performance with Vault.*

*This is a sponsored post.

Tweet of the Day: An Amazon delivery driver from Massachussets saved a drowning dog from a pool during his shift.

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