Amazon.com deal for iRobot blasted by pro-privacy, labor groups

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A bunch of some 20 pro-privacy and employee organizations, together with Public Citizen and Struggle for the Future, urged U.S. antitrust enforcers Friday to cease Amazon.com from shopping for iRobot Corp, maker of the robotic vacuum cleaner Roomba.

Of their letter, the teams argued that the deal would strengthen Amazon.com’s already highly effective place within the sensible dwelling units. “By promoting the Roomba model at or close to a loss through the Prime subscription, the corporate can entry extra private shopper information to buttress its anti-competitive benefits on-line,” the teams mentioned within the letter.

This is able to harm individuals involved about privateness, in addition to rivals who shouldn’t have entry to the data, they argued.

The $1.7 billion deal, which was introduced in August, was the most recent push by Amazon, which already owns Alexa and Ring, into the sensible dwelling units. It’s being reviewed by the U.S. Federal Commerce Fee, which has a separate antitrust probe underway of Amazon.

Amazon.com didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

The teams mentioned that non-whites may very well be harm significantly exhausting by any lack of privateness associated to the deal.

“Civil rights teams have been sounding the alarm on the hazards that Amazon’s community of sensible dwelling surveillance units pose to Black and brown communities, particularly these stemming from the mass of knowledge collected by these units,” they wrote.

Different signatories included Worldwide Brotherhood of Teamsters, Predominant Road Alliance, Demand Progress Training Fund,

Institute for Native Self-Reliance and Open Markets Institute.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Enhancing by Alistair Bell)