jetcityimage/iStock(NEW YORK) — Amazon launched “Amazon for Teens” on Thursday, a program that gives teens their own profiles — even if the tab is picked up by their parents.
Teens will be able to “search, browse, read recommendations and place orders on their own,” according to the company’s announcement on its website. The program is for minors ages 13 to 17.
After a teenager places an order, parents receive the order details by text or email and can type “Y” to approve. Orders can also be declined.
Parents then receive all the order details by text or email.
If a blank check is the route parents choose to go, they “can also set spending limits to have orders approved automatically,” the company said.
Teens also get access to their parents’ Amazon Prime shipping accounts, the Prime video library of thousands of TV shows and movies, and “free in-game loot with Twitch Prime,” on the retailer’s streaming gaming platform.
Critics, however, see the program as further encroachment on user privacy.
“Amazon targeting teens with a program designed to get them to click the ‘buy’ button more and more often shows exactly why parents cannot trust the company. It’s a shameless data grab and a sneaky attempt to drive blind consumer loyalty from cradle to grave,” said Bob Engel, spokesman for the Free & Fair Markets Initiative, a nonprofit coalition that advocates for small businesses and local communities, in an email to ABC News.
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