Amazon staffers took bribes, manipulated marketplace, leaked search algorithms
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Re: Amazon staffers took bribes, manipulated marketplace, leaked search algorithms
#2not really surprised about this and almost impossible to isolate with a company consisting of 1m employees and growing.
Re: Amazon staffers took bribes, manipulated marketplace, leaked search algorithms
#3Good to see that something is being done but when there's money to be made and humans are in the decision loop there's going to be an opportunity for social engineering and corruption. Amazon is the biggest target but I suspect this is going on anywhere else there's a large enough cohort of shoppers (eBay?).
Re: Amazon staffers took bribes, manipulated marketplace, leaked search algorithms
#4I guess this effects all companies that run a platform whether it be social or market based. The question is what can a company do prevent bad internal actors without put their employees under draconian rules?
Re: Amazon staffers took bribes, manipulated marketplace, leaked search algorithms
#5Note the scale here:
Conspirators paid $100k in bribes. "Products and merchants earned in excess of $100 million in sales revenue."
I haven't heard the job titles of the amazon employees yet, but presumably these are not very senior people. In terms of corruption dynamics, Amazon is now like a planning authority where a friendly official can rubber stamp a large fortune into a real estate developer's pocket.
Also note that, like with government corruption a lot of corruption stays just to the left of criminal red lines. Many former employees of large marketplaces (amazon, FB ads, adwords) move into the more lucrative seller side, either as employees or consultants. They are expected to bring inside knowledge and contacts to the table.
There have already been serious antitrust cases (eg the EU adwords case) concerning these marketplaces. More are coming. Meaningful fines or enforcement is yet to be seen.
Now, $100m corruption incidents.
I'm putting my money on the table now. Tech monopolies are the major political-economic issue of the 2020s.
Re: Amazon staffers took bribes, manipulated marketplace, leaked search algorithms
#6"Your Honor, I was taking bribes merely out of customer obsession!"
Re: Amazon staffers took bribes, manipulated marketplace, leaked search algorithms
#7Note the scale here: Conspirators paid $100k in bribes. "Products and merchants earned in excess of $100 million in sales revenue." I haven't heard the job titles of the amazon employees yet, but presumably these are not very senior people. In terms of corruption dynamics, Amazon is now like a planning authority where a friendly official can rubber stamp a large fortune into a real estate developer's pocket. Also not…
I was thinking this, $100k for taking on that level of risk?
Re: Amazon staffers took bribes, manipulated marketplace, leaked search algorithms
#8Note the scale here: Conspirators paid $100k in bribes. "Products and merchants earned in excess of $100 million in sales revenue." I haven't heard the job titles of the amazon employees yet, but presumably these are not very senior people. In terms of corruption dynamics, Amazon is now like a planning authority where a friendly official can rubber stamp a large fortune into a real estate developer's pocket. Also not…
Amazon is a soviet union cybernetics wet dream.
Jokes side: Do you see society coming to realize that a similar system can actually implement a planned economy for real?
Re: Amazon staffers took bribes, manipulated marketplace, leaked search algorithms
#9Note the scale here: Conspirators paid $100k in bribes. "Products and merchants earned in excess of $100 million in sales revenue." I haven't heard the job titles of the amazon employees yet, but presumably these are not very senior people. In terms of corruption dynamics, Amazon is now like a planning authority where a friendly official can rubber stamp a large fortune into a real estate developer's pocket. Also not…
I am assuming that these 100 million in revenue bought in wasn't overnight... and I can guarantee that these reps were paid on a continuity basis.
Re: Amazon staffers took bribes, manipulated marketplace, leaked search algorithms
#10Note the scale here: Conspirators paid $100k in bribes. "Products and merchants earned in excess of $100 million in sales revenue." I haven't heard the job titles of the amazon employees yet, but presumably these are not very senior people. In terms of corruption dynamics, Amazon is now like a planning authority where a friendly official can rubber stamp a large fortune into a real estate developer's pocket. Also not…
Amazon is a soviet union cybernetics wet dream. Jokes side: Do you see society coming to realize that a similar system can actually implement a planned economy for real?
Who takes the hit when the demand projections are off?