Amazon confirmed to the Daily Caller Wednesday they shut off a man’s smart home because one of their drivers claimed an automated doorbell said something racist.
A video shared Monday by YouTuber Louis Rossmann alleged Amazon shut down one of his viewers’ smart homes. He subsequently detailed the process he had to go through to get his devices back up and running. It all started when an Amazon delivery driver dropped off a package at the man’s home. The smart doorbell said something to the driver like “can I help you?” But the driver — who allegedly had headphones in — alleged the device made a racist remark.
Following the allegation, Amazon shut down the homeowner’s smart home products. After a significant amount of back and forth and an internal investigation, the company decided to release control of them.
The Daily Caller contacted Amazon to confirm the veracity of Rossmann and his viewer’s claims. The company was asked whether the content of the video is accurate, if the company restricts the use of purchased products based on uninvestigated claims and whether they have a solution if any of this is true.
“We work hard to provide customers with a great experience while also ensuring drivers who deliver Amazon packages feel safe. In this case, we learned through our investigation that the customer did not act inappropriately, and we’re working directly with the customer to resolve their concerns while also looking at ways to prevent a similar situation from happening again,” Amazon spokesperson Simone Griffin told the Daily Caller in a statement. (RELATED: Europe Threatens To Ban Twitter For Allowing Free Speech)
Amazon did not immediately respond to follow-up questions.
Watch the original video from Rossmann here: