Teen girl called Alexa legally changed her name and moved school after relentless bullying for having the same name as the Amazon assistant

• A mother told the BBC her daughter was abused by teachers and students for having the name Alexa.
• She said the bullying for having the same name as the Amazon assistant led them to change Alexa’s name.
• She said “Amazon must change the default wake word on its devices.”
• See more stories on Insider’s business page.

The parents of a teen girl called Alexa legally changed her name because she was being bullied for having the same name as the Amazon assistant, the BBC reported.

The daughter’s mother, who was not named, said her daughter was bullied in high school, and that she got some abuse from teachers. They also changed her school to help her leave the name behind.

The girl was one of several Alexas whose parents told the BBC’s “The Jeremy Vine Show” how their children suffered as Amazon’s assistant became ubiquitous.

“She started to not want to introduce herself because of the jokes and the backlash. She was and still is a child, yet adults thought it was OK to make a joke of her. It’s devastating. The school was unhelpful and told her she needed to build resilience,” she said.

Instead they gave the girl a new name and moved school.

“She’s in a much better place now. We have cut off friends and moved her to a new school to allow a fresh start. The injustice will never leave her, or us. Amazon must change the default wake word on its devices.

“There was clearly not enough ethical research into using Alexa.”

You can read the full BBC story here, and listen to the radio show featuring it here.