SAN FRANCISCO: Amazon announced on January 24th that they will discontinue the practice of allowing police to directly request video footage from Ring doorbell or home security cameras.
The app updates will eliminate the “Request for Assistance” feature, which permitted police to request and receive video captured by Ring cameras, according to a post by Ring executive Eric Kuhn.
For a long time, human rights advocates have been against this feature, claiming that it violates privacy and contributes to racial profiling.
“Ring shutting down the red carpet surveillance portal they offered to police is unquestionably a victory for the coalition of racial justice and human rights advocates,” said Fight for the Future director Evan Greer.
“The ability for law enforcement to use the Neighbors app to mass-request footage from camera owners was always dangerous.”
Ring introduced the Neighbors app in 2017, which gave people using its home security cameras a way to share videos of thieves stealing delivered packages or stray pets passing by.
Last year, people shared “Ring moments” on their social channels more than a million times, according to Kuhn.
Police and fire officials will still be able to use the Ring’s Neighbors app to share information with users, but will have to use more traditional channels such as obtaining warrants for video related to investigations.
“They envision a world blanketed in cheap, Amazon-made cameras, where people are constantly watching each other and sharing the content, whether it’s a ‘heartwarming moment’ or a violent crime,” Greer said. – AFP
