Amazon announced that its virtual voice assistant, Alexa, will begin accepting political donations for 2020 political campaigns in October.
“2020 U.S. Presidential Candidates can sign up to receive campaign contributions via Alexa. All candidates are invited to make use of this technology — on-boarding is simple and doesn’t require any technical experience,” the company said Wednesday.
People who own an Amazon Alexa simply have to say, “Alexa, donate to [candidate’s name].” The person will then be able to give up to $200 to any candidates that partner with Amazon in the effort.
To qualify, campaigns are required to give Amazon their bank account, credit card, phone number, and street address. The company will take 2.9% processing fee and 30 cents per donation, according to a spokesperson.
Amazon came under fire recently after it was revealed that thousands of their workers listen to voice recordings from devices that use Alexa. The company used both full-time and contract workers to listen in on voice recordings, causing fears of privacy invasion.
