AMAZON.COM, INC. | SHAREHOLDER PROPOSAL REQUESTING A REPORT ON CUSTOMER USE OF CERTAIN TECHNOLOGIES

Status
Filed
AGM date
Previous AGM date
Proposal number
14
Resolution details
Company ticker
AMZN
Lead filer
Individual
Resolution ask
Conduct due diligence, audit or risk/impact assessment
ESG theme
  • Social
ESG sub-theme
  • Digital rights
  • Human rights
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Consumer Discretionary
Company HQ country
United States
Resolved clause
RESOLVED: Shareholders request the Board of Directors commission an independent study of Rekognition and report to
shareholders regarding:
- The extent to which such technology may endanger, threaten or violate privacy and/or civil rights, and unfairly or
disproportionately target or surveil people of color, immigrants and activists in the United States;
- The extent to which such technologies may be marketed and sold to authoritarian or repressive governments, including
those identified by the United States Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights Practices;
- The potential loss of good will and other financial risks associated with these human rights issues;
The report should be produced at reasonable expense, exclude proprietary or legally privileged information, published no
later than December 31, 2024.
Supporting statement
Filed by: John Harrington

Amazon markets and sells facial recognition (“Rekognition”) to government that may pose significant financial risks due to
privacy and human rights implications;
Human and civil rights organizations are concerned facial surveillance technology may violate civil rights by unfairly and
disproportionately targeting and surveilling people of color, immigrants and civil society organizations;
Nearly 70 organizations asked Amazon to stop selling Rekognition, citing its role enabling “government surveillance
infrastructure”;
The ACLU found Rekognition incorrectly identified 28 Congressional members as having been arrested for a crime, and
falsely matched 1 in 5 California lawmakers. Research shows Rekognition is worse at identifying black women than white
men and misgenders nonbinary people;
Reports indicate restricting facial recognition is a rising trend:
- Multiple cities and states have banned government facial technology.
- In 2022, the Facial Recognition Ban on Body Cameras Act was reintroduced in Congress.
- UN High Commissioner for Human Rights urged a moratorium on Artificial Intelligence (AI) until adequate safeguards
exist, calling for a ban on AI inconsistent with international human rights law.
There is little evidence our Board of Directors, as part of its fiduciary oversight, has rigorously assessed risks to Amazon’s
financial performance, reputation and shareholder value associated with privacy and human rights threats to all stakeholders;
For 5 years, similar proposals have been before Amazon. In 2023 the proposal received 37.40 percent support.
Responding to the growing movement against police brutality and criminal justice bias, Amazon issued an indefinite
moratorium on Rekognition used by police departments. While this acknowledges risks, it is unclear whether it includes
other government agencies. In 2021, the Government Accountability Office found 19 of 24 United States government
agencies surveyed were using facial recognition.
Microsoft banned face recognition sales to police awaiting federal regulation, then announced the removal of features from
its AI service to ensure facial recognition technology meets ethical guidelines, while IBM stopped offering the software.
Following a $550 million settlement from a lawsuit alleging nonconsensual use of facial recognition, Facebook ceased using
facial recognition

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