Amazon — Policy Change

Executive Summary

Amazon Sidewalk launched in the United States, automatically opting in all Echo and Ring devices to share a portion of users' home internet bandwidth with nearby Amazon devices to create a neighborhood- wide mesh network. The opt-out-by-default approach drew sharp criticism from privacy advocates, the former FTC chief technologist, and Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, who recommended users disable the feature. Critics argued that sharing internet with strangers without explicit consent set a dangerous precedent.