Newsweek: The End of the Ring-Police Relationship with the Law Enforcement: Insights from the Neighbors app

NEW YORK — Amazon-owned Ring will stop allowing police departments to request doorbell camera footage from users, marking an end to a feature that has drawn criticism from privacy advocates.

Law enforcement agencies can still look at videos that they have a search warrant for. Ring still has the right to share footage without user consent in limited circumstances.

Yarger adds that the “emergency requests are reviewed by trained professionals who disclose information only when that legal standard is met.” In other words, police can still get footage in an emergency without a warrant. Google will also show footage from Nest devices to police in emergencies, no warrant required.

Matthew Guariglia, a senior policy analyst at civil liberties nonprofit the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said in a statement that the shutdown of the RFA tool was a “move in the right direction,” but he cautioned that it follows “years of cozy relationships with police and irresponsible handling of data (for which they reached a settlement with the FTC).” Ring could do more to protect the rights of community members who are subjected to Ring cameras if they wanted to.

Controversy over Ring’s relationship with law enforcement stems from its police partnership program, first revealed in a CNET investigation in June 2019. Ring worked with the police to sell discounted devices, some of which were subsidized with taxpayer funds, and pressured the police departments to follow company talking points.

The announcement by the head of Neighbors confirmed that law enforcement agencies will still be able to make posts in the Neighbors app. The app can be used by the police and other agencies to offer safety tips, updates and community events.

Ring, the Wall Street Journal, and the Technicolor.com Comment on ‘Security Practices and R-Processing in Consumer Videos”

Last summer, Ring agreed to pay $5.8 million to settle with the Federal Trade Commission over allegations that the company let employees and contractors access user videos. Furthermore, the agency said Ring had inadequate security practices, which allowed hackers to control consumer accounts and cameras. The company disagrees with the claims.

The proliferation of these relationships and users’ ability to report suspicious behavior can lead to neighborhoods being monitored more often, leading to more instances of racial profiling, according to critics.