Amazon Records Customers' Chats Without Their Consent: Complaint

Amazon records chats with customers through the customer service chat tool without their consent, in violation of the Wiretap Act and several California statutes, alleged a class action removed from California Superior Court to U.S. District Court for Eastern California in Sacramento (docket 2:23-cv-00133) Wednesday. Plaintiff Brian Heinz, a California resident, visited Amazon’s website from July through September on his cellular phone to inquire about shipping disputes about products he bought at Amazon.com, said the complaint. He wasn’t told Amazon was recording the conversations, the complaint said. But it's the company’s practice to record all communications that occur on its website, “use the recorded conversations, and also allow, aid, and abet a third party to intercept and eavesdrop on the conversations,” it alleged. Had Heinz known the conversations were being recorded, he would have “conducted himself differently." Amazon representatives didn’t inform him the chats were being recorded “until they were directly asked” and after the recording had been made, the complaint said. In addition to wiretapping, Heinz claims for California classes three counts of invasion of privacy and violation of the California Unfair Competition Law. The complaint seeks injunctive relief, statutory and punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees and legal costs.