Amazon locks customer out of his smart home over false racism claim

Jun 16, 2023

Mahmoud Bennett Anchor/Producer

By Mahmoud Bennett (Anchor/Producer), Stacey Chamberlain (Writer/Producer)

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A man was locked out of his smart home devices for a week after being wrongfully accused of using a racial slur toward a delivery driver. The man has spoken out, calling the incident “unjustified.”

Amazon confirmed that it locked Microsoft engineer Brandon Jackson out of using his Echo smart home features after a delivery driver reported racist abuse coming through the smart doorbell intercom.

Jackson contested the claim, saying nobody was home at the time of the delivery.

This story has received virtually no coverage from left-leaning news outlets, according to the Straight Arrow News Media Miss tool. The reporting is dominated by right-leaning and center-oriented news outlets.

Jackson says security camera footage revealed his Eufy doorbell had issued an automated response to the driver that said “Excuse me, can I help you?” He says the driver, who was wearing headphones at the time, must have misheard that message.

Jackson also pointed out that most delivery drivers in his area share the same race as he and his family.

Jackson regained access to his Amazon account on May 31, after what he described as an “unjustified week-long lockout.”

In an audio recording he released June 15, Jackson added that although he supports Amazon taking steps to protect its drivers, he questioned why his entire smart home system had to be rendered unusable during the internal investigation. He added that he is reconsidering his relationship with Amazon.

In a statement, Amazon confirmed Jackson did not act inappropriately and said the company is looking at ways to prevent similar situations from happening again.

Tags: amazon, Media Landscape

MAHMOUD BENNETT: A MAN WAS LOCKED OUT OF HIS SMART HOME DEVICES FOR A WEEK AFTER BEING WRONGFULLY ACCUSED OF USING A RACIAL SLUR TOWARD A DELIVERY DRIVER. THE ENTIRE INCIDENT LEAVING HIM IN THE DARK FOR SOME TIME

AMAZON CONFIRMED THAT IT LOCKED MICROSOFT ENGINEER, BRANDON JACKSON, OUT OF HIS ECHO SMART HOME HARDWARE AFTER A DELIVERY DRIVER REPORTED RACIST ABUSE COMING THROUGH THE SMART DOORBELL INTERCOM. JACKSON CONTESTED THE CLAIM, SAYING NOBODY WAS HOME AT THE TIME OF THE DELIVERY.

THIS IS A STORY THAT’S RECEIVED VIRTUALLY NO COVERAGE FROM NEWS OUTLETS ON THE POLITICAL LEFT ACCORDING TO OUR MEDIA MISS TOOL – AS YOU CAN SEE THE REPORTING IS DOMINATED BY RIGHT AND CENTER ORIENTED NEWS OUTLETS – AT STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS WE MAKE THAT CLEAR TO GIVE YOU BETTER PERSPECTIVE ON THE STORIES ONE SIDE MAY NEGLECT

JACKSON SAYS SECURITY CAMERA FOOTAGE REVEALED HIS EUFY DOORBELL HAD ISSUED AN AUTOMATED RESPONSE TO THE DRIVER THAT SAID “EXCUSE ME, CAN I HELP YOU?” HE SAYS THE DRIVER, WHO WAS WEARING HEADPHONES AT THE TIME, MISHEARD THAT MESSAGE

JACKSON ALSO POINTED OUT THAT MOST DELIVERY DRIVERS IN HIS AREA SHARE THE SAME RACE AS HE AND HIS FAMILY.

JACKSON REGAINED ACCESS TO HIS AMAZON ACCOUNT ON MAY 31ST, AFTER WHAT HE DESCRIBED AS AN UNJUSTIFIED WEEK-LONG LOCKOUT. IN AN AUDIO RECORDING HE RELEASED JUNE 15, JACKSON ADDED THAT ALTHOUGH HE SUPPORTS AMAZON TAKING STEPS TO PROTECT THEIR DRIVERS, HE QUESTIONED WHY HIS ENTIRE SMART HOME SYSTEM HAD TO BE RENDERED UNUSABLE DURING THEIR INTERNAL INVESTIGATION – HE ADDED THAT HE IS RECONSIDERING HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH AMAZON.

IN A STATEMENT AMAZON CONFIRMED JACKSON DID NOT ACT INAPPROPRIATELY AND SAID THE COMPANY IS LOOKING AT WAYS TO PREVENT SIMILAR SITUATIONS FROM HAPPENING AGAIN.