Amazon

What is Amazon?

Amazon is a tech giant from the United States, founded by Jeff Bezos. Some of their products and services include:

• The many Amazon online stores.
• The Kindle ebook reader and the ebooks they sell.
• The Alexa digital assistant.
• Cloud computing services in Amazon Web Services.
• Video and music streaming services in Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Music.
• Many other services and platforms they own, such as IMDb, Twitch, or Audible.

What is wrong with Amazon?

There are many things wrong with Amazon. Some are:

• Tax avoidance.
• Denial of worker rights.
• Lack of respect for its customers.
• Unfair, anticompetitive market practices.

The Ethical consumer website has a good article about why you should boycott Amazon. I suggest that you read it, but in short, it can be summarized as that Amazon is harmful for you as a customer and for the society as a whole.

Alternatives to Amazon

• Amazon online stores: always favor smaller, preferably local stores. It is impossible for me to give a general recommendation that works for everyone: you will need to search for other stores in your country.
• Kindle devices: I like Pocketbook (founded in Ukraine, relocated to Switzerland). There is also Kobo (from Canada, part of the Japanese Rakuten). For Germans, consider Tolino (German).
• Ebooks & audiobooks (Audible): ideally buy from DRM-free stores. I use Humble Bundle a lot. Kobo also has their own store, and there is always the Project Gutenberg, with more than 75.000 free ebooks.
• Alexa: don’t use it. It’s a privacy nightmare and you don’t need a digital assistant.
• Cloud computing: good question!
• Video streaming: good question!
• Music: buy from Bandcamp instead.
• IMDb: read movie information in Wikipedia instead.
• Twitch: although you won’t find the same amount of content, use PeerTube, a federated video service, and find suitable creators there.