Amazon is reportedly telling delivery drivers they must give 'biometric consent' so the company can

[jalan48]

track them as a condition of the job


Amazon is telling its delivery drivers to sign a consent form that allows the company to track them based on biometric data as "a condition of delivering Amazon packages," Motherboard's Lauren Kaori Gurley reported on Tuesday.

Thousands of drivers across the US must sign the "biometric consent" paperwork this week, and if they don't they'll lose their jobs, according to Motherboard. The form, which was viewed by the outlet and published in the report, states that Amazon would be allowed to use "on-board safety camera technology which collects your photograph for the purposes of confirming your identity and connecting you to your driver account." The system would then "collect, store, and use Biometric Information from such photographs.


The technology specifically would track a driver's location and movement, like how many miles they drive, when they brake and turn, and how fast they are driving.


As Motherboard noted, the drivers presented with the consent form are employed through third-party delivery partners that use Amazon's delivery stations but who are still subject to the company's working guidelines. An Amazon delivery company owner told the outlet that one of their drivers refused to sign, citing Amazon's micromanaging as the reason.

https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-ai-camera-driver-biometric-tracking-consent-deliver-packages-report-2021-3

[hlthe2b]

1. Wow. That is beyond intrusive. It could also put the drivers in legal jeopardy.

Amazon needs a UNION NOW!

[jalan48]

3. Corporate Big Brother. Who needs robots when humans can be turned into them.

[Ferrets are Cool]

9. As long as it doesn't extend past working hours, what's the problem?

Employers have rules. Especially when it comes to drivers. If it makes the public safer on the roads, I'm all for it. Hell, I wish all 18 wheel companies would do the same thing. Most of them are horrendous drivers nowadays.

[hlthe2b]

11. Wrong place wrong time (when crime occurs) with your data provided to police? Use your imagination.

Sometimes the innocent really do get nailed by circumstance.

[NYC Liberal]

25. It does extend past the working hours because the data is stored.

They aren’t monitoring during working hours and then discarding the data at the end.

[Ferrets are Cool]

27. But they are ONLY being monitored DURING working hours.

Hundreds of thousands of EMPLOYEES are monitored AT WORK.

No, I wouldn't like it, because I might want to pick my nose in private, but it does make sense for some companies.

[fescuerescue]

16. Working on video?

I don't think I would like it much, but its pretty damn common.

Every bank teller deals with the same everyday.

Airline pilots? Every word recorded, every aspect of the controls recorded. Plus they are on video the entire time in the airport and are physically scanned each day.

Truck drivers? their every motion recorded. Even their bathroom breaks are on record.

I think it just sounds worse when they call it "biometric".

But really, this is pretty basic monitoring.

[marble falls]

2. edited. I don't need another hide.

[Fullduplexxx]

4. You can get a hide for saying that .

[NurseJackie]

5. I don't have a problem with this. It makes good business sense to...

... know where the packages are, and whether the drivers are safe, and whether they are prompt (or if delays are due to an accident on the beltway or a train derailment that blocks the interstate, etc.)

"on-board safety camera technology which collects your photograph for the purposes of confirming your identity and connecting you to your driver account." The system would then "collect, store, and use Biometric Information from such photographs.

Seems perfectly reasonable.

[Ka-Dinh Oy]

6. It would protect the drivers also. It would be harder to blame them for misplaced packages and blame

for accidents. Personally as long as it is not in my car I would be fine.

[NurseJackie]

7. In fact, I think that ALL carriers should implement something like this...

... whether it's a contracted driver, seasonal, temp, or whatever. Even Fedex, DHL, UPS, and USPS should have these types of systems for real-time live tracking and monitoring WHO is driving and WHO is in the back of the truck/van.

[Ka-Dinh Oy]

8. Makes sense.

[muriel_volestrangler]

12. It's about monitoring their driving habits

In February, Amazon announced plans to install the AI-powered four-lens cameras, made by the tech company Netradyne, in all of its Amazon-branded delivery vans. The company says cameras are being used to improve "safety" and the "quality of the delivery experience." But as Thomson Reuters reported earlier this month, some drivers are quitting their jobs because of privacy concerns. The Netradyne cameras are able to sense when a driver yawns, appears distracted, or isn't wearing a seatbelt, according to a product description, and monitor drivers' body and facial movements.

“Netradyne cameras are used to help keep drivers and the communities where we deliver safe,” said Deborah Bass, a spokesperson for Amazon. “We piloted the technology from April to October 2020 on over two million miles of delivery routes and the results produced remarkable driver and community safety improvements—accidents decreased 48 percent, stop sign violations decreased 20 percent, driving without a seatbelt decreased 60 percent, and distracted driving decreased 45 percent. Don’t believe the self-interested critics who claim these cameras are intended for anything other than safety.”

https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy8n3j/amazon-delivery-drivers-forced-to-sign-biometric-consent-form-or-lose-job

[NurseJackie]

15. I'm good with that. (The UPS drivers in our area ZOOM through neighborhoods...

at least 50 in a 20-zone.) I've seen a zippy Amazon van here and there... but none as bad as UPS.

If they'd all just drive like me... an old lady*... then the world would be a much safer place. If it take tech to accomplish that, then I'm in favor of it.


*I go the speed limit, I come to complete stops, I use my turn signals, I never run red-lights, I never speed up to zoom through a yellow/red light.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

18. Here's a shocker. I completely agree with you.

And, really, this is going to make it harder for Amazon to claim they are not in charge of the driver in a court case when they are having this level of monitoring.

[NurseJackie]

29. In that case, I've changed my mind.

Ha ha! Kidding!

[RANDYWILDMAN]

10. These people need a freakin UNION, like yesterday

Amazon is not helping these people, they are just trying to wring more $$$$ out of them.

[Hekate]

13. Big Brother is watching you. Damn do these people need a union. nt

[fescuerescue]

14. Fancy way of saying "your picture"

Truck drivers have been monitored for years now.

[NurseJackie]

17. Oh no! Bio-metrics! They're going to put a chip in their brain!!

Fancy way of saying "your picture"

You mean, it's not a tracking chip in the brain... like in "Total Recall".

Whew! What are people getting so worked up about?

[Celerity]

19. Ed Markey, Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren, & Richard Blumenthal wrote a joint letter

to Jeff Bezos asking him to provide more information on the company’s recent deployment of surveillance cameras in vehicles used by contracted delivery drivers.

https://tinyurl.com/9psccrbk

[Ferrets are Cool]

21. "without their knowledge or permission"

I'm sorry, but that just isn't a truthful statement.

[Celerity]

23. look at the date, this was before Amazon dealt with that nt

[Ferrets are Cool]

26. Thanks

[Celerity]

28. yw!

[2naSalit]

20. That's where I draw the line.

I would hand the keys back and them to pack sand. A job that isn't worth whatever the pay might be.

[lindysalsagal]

22. Union, anyone?

Or are we just going to accept 19th century working conditions?

Unions protect more than just union members: They give voice even to those who don't unionize. THAT's why everyone should support unions even if they're not in one.

[Celerity]

24. There are a lot of clandestine, disguised, and cloaked anti-union undercurrents that flow in from

minor tributaries and swirl about in the main rivers of thought here. Covert and/or implied anti-unionism is but one of the manifestations of reactionary subterfuge that emanates from those murky waters.