Ring, the home surveillance camera company owned by Amazon, says it will stop allowing law enforcement agencies to request footage of users within its app, amid long-standing concerns from privacy advocates about the company's relationship with law enforcement. .
Eric Kuhn, general manager of subscriptions and software for the Ring app Neighbors, said Wednesday that the company is a social platform similar to Nextdoor and Citizen that allows police to request and receive video from users of the app. It was announced that the function would be shut down. A place where people can share alerts about crimes near their homes.
Kuhn did not say why Ring is eliminating an app feature that allows police to solicit active cooperation from the public in investigations based on a special category of posts called “requests for assistance.”
People can respond to posts by submitting police videos that may be relevant to the investigation, without police requesting a warrant.
The “Request for Assistance” feature was introduced in June 2021 to provide users with detailed information about how local law enforcement agencies used Ring to gather information.
Users may also opt out of receiving such types of postings on the App. Previously, police could privately email video requests to Ring users in areas of interest, as well as those using the Neighbors app.
Coon said police and fire departments can continue to make public posts on Neighbors to share safety tips, updates and community events. You don't need a Ring device to use the app.
Privacy advocates have criticized Ring's partnership with police, saying easily installed home security cameras exacerbate racial discrimination.
In a statement, the electronic frontier foundation, a civil rights group, celebrated Ring's changes but said the mass adoption of doorbell cameras still threatens people's rights.
“This is a long battle not only against sweeping police oversight, but also against a culture in which private, for-profit companies build special tools that give law enforcement easy access to a company's users and their data. A win. It ultimately undermines customer trust,” the statement said.
The company said on the Ring website that law enforcement cannot use the Neighbors app to access or control people's Ring cameras or view recordings not posted to the app.
The website includes maps of fire and police stations that use the app. These agencies use his Neighbors to provide updates on road closures and police activity, safety tips like reminders to lock your car doors at night, and information about upcoming events like virtual town halls. We also share information.
Amazon acquired Ring in 2018. In a letter published in 2022 by Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Amazon said more than 2,100 law enforcement agencies participate in the Neighbors app.
Brian Huesman, Amazon's vice president of public policy, also said in the letter that Amazon shared Ring footage with law enforcement 11 times in 2022 using a process that did not require user consent.
“In each case, Ring determined in good faith that there was an imminent risk of death or serious injury to a person requiring disclosure without delay,” Huesman said.
Last year, the Federal Trade Commission said Ring gave employees and contractors access to private videos and failed to take security measures to protect customers from online threats, such as hackers breaking into cameras. In response, Amazon agreed to pay $5.8 million. Ring disputed these claims in a May 2023 statement announcing the settlement.