Ring will stop allowing police to request video from security cameras
Ring, a home security camera company owned by Amazon, said it would stop allowing law enforcement to request images from users in its app, as privacy advocates have long raised concerns about the company's relationship with the law enforcement.
Eric Kuhn, general manager of subscriptions and software for the Ring Neighbors app, made the announcement on Wednesday that the company shut down a feature that allowed police to request and receive videos from users of the app, a social platform similar to Nextdoor and Citizen where people can share alerts about crime near their homes.
Mr. Kuhn did not say why Ring removed the app feature, which allowed police to ask the public for help with active investigations under a special category of messages called “Request for Assistance.”
People could respond to the messages by sending videos to police that could be relevant to an investigation, without the police having to apply for a warrant.
The 'Request Assistance' feature was introduced in June 2021 to give users more information about how local police used Ring to collect information.
People can also opt out of receiving these types of messages in the app. For, police could send private email requests for footage for Ring users in an area of interest, not just people who used the Neighbors app.
Police and fire departments will still be able to post public posts on Neighbors to share safety tips, updates and community events, Mr. Kuhn said. People don't need a Ring device to use the app.
Privacy advocates have criticized Ring for its partnerships with police, saying easy-to-install home security cameras worsen racial discrimination.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a civil liberties group, celebrated the change at Ring a statement but said the mass distribution of doorbell cameras still threatened people's rights.
“This is a victory in a long battle not only against blanket policing, but also against a culture in which private, for-profit companies build special tools to allow law enforcement to more easily access companies' users and their data. which ultimately undermine the trust of their customers,” the statement said.
On the Ring websiteAccording to the company, law enforcement agencies cannot use the Neighbors app to access or monitor people's Ring cameras, or to view recordings not posted in the app.
The website contains a map of fire and police departments that use the app. These agencies have used Neighbors to provide updates on road closures and police activity, as well as to share safety tips, such as reminders to lock car doors at night, and information about upcoming events, such as virtual town halls.
Amazon acquired Ring in 2018 a letter made public by Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts in 2022, Amazon said more than 2,100 law enforcement agencies participated in the Neighbors app.
In the letterBrian Huseman, Amazon's vice president of public policy, also said that Amazon had shared Ring images with law enforcement 11 times in 2022 using a process that does not require user consent.
“In each case, Ring determined in good faith that there was an imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm to a person requiring prompt disclosure of information,” Mr. Huseman said.
Last year, Amazon agreed to pay $5.8 million after the Federal Trade Commission said Ring gave its employees and contractors access to private videos and failed to implement security measures to protect customers from online threats, such as hackers who invade the cameras. Ring disputed these claims in a May 2023 statement the announcement of the settlement.