Ring Will Stop Giving Cops a Free Pass on Warrantless Video Requests
Credit to Author: Andrew Couts| Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2024 23:41:00 +0000
Ring, the Amazon-owned home surveillance company known for its long history of partnering with police, announced today that it plans to shut down a controversial tool that allows law enforcement to ask users to share their footage without first obtaining a warrant.
In a press release announcing its decision, Ring says it will begin “sunsetting” its Request for Assistance (RFA) tool, which allows police to post requests for user surveillance footage to the company’s Neighbors app. Civil liberties advocates are praising the move, but some warn that the very presence of home surveillance cameras continues to pose a risk to privacy and fuel police overreach.
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).” He added that Ring could do more to protect the rights of community members subjected to Ring surveillance cameras, such as enabling end-to-end encryption by default.
Although Ring says the RFA tool will no longer be available starting next week, there are several other ways police can access Ring users’ surveillance footage without obtaining a warrant. First, Ring spokesperson Yassi Yarger tells WIRED that the company will also continue to provide law enforcement with user information “on an emergency basis when there is an imminent danger of death or serious physical injury, such as a kidnapping or an attempted murder.” Second, officers can directly ask users for their footage—just not using the RFA feature.
“If customers want to engage with public safety agencies to share information, they can connect directly with their local agencies outside of the app,” Yarger says. “Ring will no longer offer a customer-facing feature that facilitates video sharing between Ring customers and law enforcement.”
Controversy over Ring’s relationship with law enforcement stems from its police partnership program, first revealed in a CNET investigation in June 2019. For years, Ring worked with police to sell discounted devices, some of which were subsidized with taxpayer funds, and frequently pressured police departments to follow company talking points.
The program appeared to be highly successful. A December 2019 Gizmodo investigation that mapped Ring’s surveillance network using metadata from videos posted to the Neighbors app found that cities around the United States were blanketed by Ring cameras, subjecting residents to widespread surveillance. The Washington Post found that Ring had partnered with more than 400 police departments in the US as of August 2019—a figure that rose to more than 2,100 by July 2022, according to a letter Ring sent to US senator Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, who has introduced legislation that attempts to place limits on corporate-run surveillance networks like Ring’s. Yarger, the Ring spokesperson, did not say whether the company will maintain its partnership program with police but noted that “law enforcement will continue to be able to use the Neighbors Public Safety Service (NPSS) to post helpful information to their community residents.”
Reached for comment, Markey’s office directed WIRED to the senator’s statement posted to X, in which he called the shuttering of the RFA tool “good.”
“I’ve been sounding the alarm for years on Amazon Ring’s privacy and security failures,” Markey added. “We cannot allow Americans' home security systems to become surveillance tools for law enforcement. We have to prevent Big Tech's web of surveillance systems from growing.”
Evan Greer, director of civil liberties advocacy group Fight for the Future and a vocal critic of Ring, called the company's decision today an “unequivocal victory” for those who have campaigned against the company’s surveillance network, but added in their statement that the move “only scratches the surface of addressing the harm done by Ring's dystopian business model.”
“We need laws. Local, state, and federal elected officials should ban these types of private surveillance partnerships entirely, and should impose strict limits on where homeowners and businesses can place cameras to ensure they are not violating their neighbors’ privacy and rights,” Greer said.
Ring’s Yarger tells WIRED that the decision to shut down the RFA tool was “purely internal” and cited that the company recently hired a new CEO, Liz Hamren, who took over in March 2023. “As you may know, we have a new Ring CEO and leader,” Yarger says. “As we look to the future of Neighbors, we’re focusing our resources on delivering new product and app experiences that we feel are a better fit with Ring’s vision and can better empower our customers to connect with each other, and stay informed by local government and public safety agencies.”
This shift, according to the company’s announcement today, includes the launch of “Ring Moments,” which encourages users to share content that inspires “joy and hope,” such as a video of a bear in a swimming pool or neighbors helping each other shovel snow.
For Ring users still concerned about police overreach, EFF’s Guariglia notes that there are several actions you can take, including enabling end-to-end encryption on your devices. “Be mindful of what your camera is pointed at and what video and audio it may collect from yourself, your family, and your neighbors,” he tells WIRED. “If possible, try to clear your camera’s recorded video/audio as often as is feasible. And most importantly, if police come and ask for your footage, request that they get a warrant.”