2 ms·
This story had me thinking about the different responses from Google and Amazon for this kind of thing. If you search about topics related to suicide on google,
by TaylorAlexander 4y ago
This story had me thinking about the different responses from Google and Amazon for this kind of thing. If you search about topics related to suicide on google, they will show you the suicide hotline number at the top of the search. If you search amazon for suicide related products, amazon will sell you a whole kit of supplies to go through with it.
Which is why the comments about "well algorithms are hard" falls flat. Google has complex algorithms too, but they can still add a safety layer. People have specifically asked amazon to stop selling suicide kits, and as far as I have read amazon refused to change. The issue is not that amazon cannot fix this, but that they don't want to. Hopefully this recent bad press will lead them to change their tune, but it is worrying when they can't see the best course of action without bad press.
- willio58 4y agoFrom the article: > Amazon says that searches for the word “suicide” present customers with a banner at the top of their search results with the phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline.
- bombcar 4y agoI assume this stuff works ... but how well? I imagine it's often like the "don't do drugs" ads just above the vape products at the store ...
- TheNewsIsHere 4y agoIf my memory serves me, there have been studies done to evaluate the effectiveness of these measures. I don’t recall any off the top of my head, but scientists have also wondered and evaluated. The data is out there for someone more motivated than myself. :)
- adamweld 4y agoSearching Amazon for 'suicide' or 'suicide kit' is showing me a hotline banner, currently. I'm not sure if this is new behavior.