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Amazon unintentionally hid competitor's faster delivery options, report says

The e-commerce site is reportedly working to fix the error.

Shelby Brown Editor II
Shelby Brown (she/her/hers) is an editor for CNET's services team. She covers tips and tricks for apps, operating systems and devices, as well as mobile gaming and Apple Arcade news. Shelby also oversees Tech Tips coverage. Before joining CNET, she covered app news for Download.com and served as a freelancer for Louisville.com.
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  • She received the Renau Writing Scholarship in 2016 from the University of Louisville's communication department.
Shelby Brown
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Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, e-commerce giant Amazon confirmed that it would significantly delay US deliveries of non-essential items until late April in favor of shipping medical and home staples faster. On Friday, a report from Recode said Amazon may have unintentionally hid that some of its competitors that sell on its marketplace could deliver nonessential items to customers faster. 

"To address the need for high priority items and ensure customers are receiving deliveries as quickly as possible, we've made a number of adjustments to how our store works," an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement. "In this case, some of these changes have resulted in an error which, in some cases, resulted in an unintended variation in how we select which offers to feature. We are working to correct it as quickly as possible." 

Four US senators wrote Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos a letter last week inquiring as to how the company is keeping workers safe during the pandemic, In response, Amazon defended the protections the company has taken. 

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