European Union lawmakers wrote a letter to Amazon chief Jeff Bezos asking him about his company employing intelligence agents to spy on politicians, trade unionists and employees, according to a CNBC report.
The letter was written by Leila Chaibi, a French politician from the "La France Insoumise" party. The letter was then signed by 36 MPs, who are members of the European Parliament from left and green parties in most parts of the European Union.
"We wonder about your intentions with great concern: Is Amazon's surveillance system deliberately targeting unionists, Amazon workers, as well as political representatives (including us) who might criticize its activities?"
The letter comes after Amazon removed an ad for two "intelligence analysts" jobs with exemplary skills in French and Spanish.
According to the job postings, the jobs included monitoring various threats perceived by Amazon, including: labor unions and "hostile political leaders."
"We are concerned about the potential for European trade unions, as well as local, national or European elected representatives, to be affected by this approach to monitoring threats aimed at suppressing collective action and organizing trade unions," the letter said.
If appointed, the analysts will be tasked with gathering information on any internal and external threats to Amazon and reporting the data to leaders across the organization.
🕵️Mr @JeffBezos, are you hiring intelligence agents to spy on your employees?
🕵️To spy on MEPs?
📰Following recent surveillance revelations within #Amazon, my open letter published in the @guardian 1 / ⤵️⤵️⤵️https: //t.co/3vf8047GWE
- LeĂŻla Chaibi (@leilachaibi) October 7, 2020
The job advertisements stated that the analysts would be tasked with gathering intelligence on "sensitive and highly classified topics, including threats to organize work against the company," and "financing and activities related to the company's campaigns (internal and external) against Amazon," in addition to briefings on "dynamic situations." This includes protests, geopolitical crises, and other "sensitive human resources and employee relations" topics.
The targeted job holders will work for candidates with law enforcement or military experience from Amazon headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, and the employees will be part of the Global Intelligence Program of Amazon's Global Security Operation.
A company spokesperson told CNBC, "The job post was not an accurate description of the role. It was done by mistake, and it was corrected at that time."
Trade unions said last week that the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, must investigate the legality of Amazon's workers monitoring.