On Prime Day, one of Amazon’s busiest shopping days, immigrant community members and labor activists in San Francisco protested the company's controversial ties with law enforcement nationwide and its labor practices.
Protesters from activist groups including Bay Resistance, San Francisco Rising and Causa Justa Just Cause gathered outside of retail giant Amazon’s downtown office on Monday, demanding the company sever ties with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and local law enforcement, and improve working conditions for employees.
The ACLU says Amazon partners with local law enforcement agencies across the country who use its facial recognition software, Rekognition, to solve cases.
The Daily Beast reported that in June 2018, Amazon was in talks with ICE about the agency possibly using Rekognition. The company has not previously denied that ICE uses the recognition technology; it has said the software should be better regulated by governmental agencies. ICE told KQED it couldn't comment on investigative techniques.
“Amazon shouldn’t be profiting off of people’s real pain and real lives that are being torn apart,” said Kung Feng, executive director of Jobs With Justice, who spoke at the event.