E-commerce giant Amazon has landed in major trouble after allegations that some of its staff sold confidential data to third party companies particularly in China.
Employees are allegedly selling information on sales and searches to the independent merchants that operate on the site and providing a way to delete negative reviews, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. These practices may help sellers' products appear higher in search results, bettering their chances of attracting customers. The newspaper cited brokers who act as intermediaries between employees and merchants, individuals who bought the services, and people familiar with the investigation
An Amazon spokesperson in a brief statement said that the company is "conducting a thorough investigation of these claims."
"We have zero tolerance for abuse of our systems and if we find bad actors who have engaged in this behavior, we will take swift action against them, including terminating their selling accounts, deleting reviews, withholding funds, and taking legal action," the statement stated.
Amazon employs approximately 560,000 people worldwide.
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