House E-Commerce Caucus Probes Amazon Privacy After Seller Says $90,000 Was Frozen
Updated
Updated · SILive.com · Jul 24
House E-Commerce Caucus Probes Amazon Privacy After Seller Says $90,000 Was Frozen
1 articles · Updated · SILive.com · Jul 24
Summary
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis said the House E-Commerce Caucus will investigate Amazon privacy practices after allegations that a suspended seller’s account data was exposed to black-market fixers.
Bed Scrunchie founder Jack Nekhala said Amazon has locked his seller account for nearly two years, froze $90,000 in revenue and forced his product to be sold through a third party at $49.99—about $10 higher.
Nekhala said people on LinkedIn, WeChat, WhatsApp and Telegram offered insider help restoring the account, and Bloomberg reported one fixer appeared to know confidential seller information that should have been limited to Amazon staff.
The case echoes a prior federal bribery scheme: prosecutors said in 2023 that a participant in a 2020 case funneled bribes through India to obtain confidential data on third-party sellers and suspensions.
Amazon told Bloomberg such misconduct is rare but said it invests heavily in anti-fraud systems, while Nekhala argues the episode shows vulnerabilities that can damage small U.S. businesses reliant on the marketplace.