Bowyer Research, on behalf of Alliance Defending Freedom, has submitted a shareholder proposal titled 'Respect Civil Liberties in Digital Services' to Amazon.com, Inc., urging the company to evaluate potential discrimination against customers based on religious or political views. The proposal highlights concerns over digital service providers like Amazon adopting vague and subjective policies that could lead to deplatforming or market access denial for users with certain viewpoints. The document cites First Amendment case law and public accommodation laws, suggesting that such policies may be legally suspect and pose significant financial and reputational risks to companies. It also references instances where companies like Meta and Eventbrite have acknowledged the risks of these policies in their annual reports. The proposal calls...Show More

Bowyer Research, on behalf of Alliance Defending Freedom, has submitted a shareholder proposal titled 'Respect Civil Liberties in Digital Services' to Amazon.com, Inc., urging the company to evaluate potential discrimination against customers based on religious or political views. The proposal highlights concerns over digital service providers like Amazon adopting vague and subjective policies that could lead to deplatforming or market access denial for users with certain viewpoints. The document cites First Amendment case law and public accommodation laws, suggesting that such policies may be legally suspect and pose significant financial and reputational risks to companies. It also references instances where companies like Meta and Eventbrite have acknowledged the risks of these policies in their annual reports. The proposal calls for a report to assess these risks, arguing that viewpoint-based discrimination could lead to costly litigation, regulatory scrutiny, and loss of consumer trust. The submission emphasizes the importance of digital service providers respecting diverse ideological and religious viewpoints and the potential benefits of the proposal for both Amazon and its shareholders.