Amazon locked a smart home user out of his smart home devices for days, because his delivery driver accused him of using a racial slur.
Microsoft engineer, Brandon Jackson, posted a blog on Medium claiming he experienced an “unexpected and unwarranted lockout that lasted nearly a week.”
Jackson contacted Amazon customer service about his situation, and he was told that, when a delivery driver was dropping off a package at his doorstep on May 24, the driver heard a “racial slur” through the Ring doorbell.
"When I connected with the executive, they asked if I knew why my account had been locked," he explained in his blog. "When I answered I was unsure, their tone turned somewhat accusatory. I was told that the driver who had delivered my package reported receiving racist remarks from my ‘Ring doorbell.'"
Apparently. Jackson was locked out of his smart home devices for a whole week – May 24th through May 31st. Amazon offers a wide range of “smart home” products for security, lighting, audio, temperature control and other functions.
Jackson rejected the accusation, noting that he is also black and many of the delivery drivers in his area are of the same race.
After doing a little research on his devices, he discovered that no one was home at the time of the delivery. Jackson thinks that his automated doorbell said to the driver, "Excuse me, can I help you?" "The driver, who was walking away and wearing headphones, must have misinterpreted the message," wrote Jackson.
Even after he shared the evidence with Amazon, access to his own devices remained locked for days. Jackson did not receive confirmation of the investigation until May 26 and his account was not unlocked until five days later.
Amazon told NTD NEWS, “We learned through our investigation that the customer did not act inappropriately, and we’re working directly with the customer to resolve their concerns while also looking at ways to prevent a similar situation from happening again."
The incident highlights Americans’ growing concerns issues, such as privacy, customer rights and the potential for users of AI (artificial intelligence) to control others’ lives.