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Writer's pictureAlex Kawa

Is Amazon Buying Congress's Silence Regarding their Privacy Rights Violations?

Over the past several months, Amazon's Ring doorbells have come under fire for a variety of reasons. Specifically, the fact that the company has partnerships with over 500 police departments, allowing them warrantless access to security footage obtained by these doorbells. Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee member, conducted an investigation into Ring's surveillance practices, and additionally discovered that police officers may request footage against the Terms of Service, that they may share surveillance footage with third parties without customers' consent, among several other blatant violation of privacy rights and the Fourth Amendment.


As a result of these abuses of privacy rights, over 35 civil rights organizations, spearheaded by Fight for the Future, spent several months calling on Congress to investigate Amazon for them. However, Congress has yet to act on such? Why is that?


Well, the congressional committees that would most likely be primarily responsible for investigating this issue are the aforementioned Senate Committee om Commerce, Science, and Transportation, as well as the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. In the 2020 election cycle, Amazon has donated $31,000 and $29,500 in PAC money to members of these respective committees, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Individually, here is how much PAC money members of the former committee have taken from Amazon in their most recent election cycle:


- Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), Chair - $7,500 in 2018

- Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) - $2,000 in 2018

- Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) - $4,500 in 2018

- Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) - $10,000 in 2020

- Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) - $5,000 in 2016

- Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) - $1,000 in 2020

- Sen. John Thune (R-SD) - $2,500 in 2016

- Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) - $5,000 in 2018

- Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) - $3,500 in 2016

- Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) - $2,500 in 2016

- Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) - $2,500 in 2018

- Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) - $5,000 in 2016

- Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) - $5,000 in 2020

- Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) - $5,000 in 2016

- Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) - $7,500 in 2018

- Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) - $5,000 in 2016

- Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) - $5,000 in 2020

- Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) - $1,000 in 2014*

- Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) - $5,000 in 2016


*Udall is up for re-election in 2020, but he is retiring.


Conversely, here is how much PAC money Amazon has contributed to members of the latter committee this election cycle:


- Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) - $5,000

- Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) - $2,000

- Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) - $1,000

- Rep. James Comer (R-KY) - $2,500

- Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) - $1,000

- Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN) - $1,000

- Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) - $1,000

- Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH) - $1,000

- Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) - $1,000

- Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL) - $2,500

- Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-MI) - $2,500

- Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) - $1,000

- Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) - $1,000

- Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) - $2,500

- Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) - $1,000

- Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) - $3,500


Given Amazon's donations to the people who would likely play the most primary role in investigating their privacy rights violations, their silence on this issue should come as no surprise. As Amazon and Ring continue to unconstitutionally spy on innocent Americans, the people who have the obligation to investigate their wrongdoing will unfortunately probably listen to their donors more than their voters.


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