Over the years, countless experts have warned about privacy and cybersecurity risks with all "smart" (see 1, 2, 3), wireless and/or Internet of Things (IoT) technology, not just Amazon's.  Nevertheless, lawsuits and settlements associated with privacy violations via Amazon's devices and software continue to make headlines (see 1, 2, 3).  If that's not enough for users to deactivate the company's "smart" home devices, perhaps a Microsoft Engineer's recent experience will.

From Zerohedge:

Amazon Locks Man Out Of Smart Home Devices Over False Racism Claims

by Tyler Durden

Amazon locked a Microsoft engineer out of his smart home devices for nearly a week after a delivery driver accused him of uttering a racial slur.

According to a June 4 blog post on Medium, Brandon Jackson found himself locked out of his Amazon Echo Show on May 25. When he contacted customer service, he was given the number of an Amazon executive – which he thought was a scam.