Amazon Reassures Congressman over Kindle Privacy

US congressman Ed Markey has questioned Amazon.com about data it could potentially collect from a combination of the new Kindle Fire tablet and Amazon's own Silk browser, which he believes could send information on every site user's visits back to the online retailer.

A New York Times article sparked the debate when it reported that Amazon would be able to collect and utilize information about its users' Kindle Fire Internet surfing and buying habits through the Silk browser, including which items they buy and how much they pay on other sites.

In a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Markey outlined these concerns, and asked what information Amazon plans to collect about users of the Kindle Fire, and whether it plans to sell this customer information to outside companies.

In response, Amazon spokesperson Paul Misener explained that Amazon Silk logs aggregate browsing information which is not associated with individual customer identities. He also confirmed that Amazon does not sell, or rent this data to others, nor does the firm have plans to do so. Markey however thinks the response he received does not provide enough detail about how the company intends to use customer information, beyond acknowledging that it does actually use it.

'Amazon states 'Customer information is an important part of our business', but it is also important for customers to know how the company uses their personal information. Amazon is collecting a massive amount of information about Kindle Fire users, and it has a responsibility to be transparent with its customers. I plan to follow-up with the company for additional answers on this issue,' he stated.

Markey (D-Massachusetts) is co-Chairman of the Bi-partisan Congressional Privacy Caucus, and has investigated the data privacy and security practices of Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, the four major wireless carriers and the Social Security Administration.