In the U.S.,
around 30% of households have installed some sort of
surveillance camera on their front doors, often in
the form of a 'doorbell camera.'
The goal, of
course, is to protect their home's security. But major brand Ring — owned
by Amazon — is introducing more AI features and teaming
up with law enforcement agencies. And people
around the country are terrified of how this technology
might be misused.
These fears heightened after
a recent Ring commercial that aired during the
Super Bowl, one of the biggest sports events of the year
in the U.S. In the ad, Ring unveiled a new AI-powered
tracking system called "Search Party" — which creates a
whole network of neighborhood
surveillance.
The company tried to disguise
the chilling undertones using a story about a lost dog.
But as Senator Ed Markey summarized the commercial well:
"This definitely isn't about dogs — it's about mass
surveillance." People across the country have begun
destroying previously-installed Ring cameras amid
privacy fears. Social media is filled with worries about
how law enforcement could use this data to track
immigrants, Black and Brown people, and
activists.
Ring already has active partnerships
with Flock and Axon, two additional surveillance
companies that work with police. Ring is even
partnering with U.S. law enforcement itself. Through
its so-called 'Community Requests tool,' police can
submit requests for neighborhood Ring camera footage.
And, once these videos are in police possession, they
can be forwarded to ICE.
Sign the petition to demand
that individual U.S. cities and states intervene to stop
Ring from using home security systems to transform into
mass police and ICE surveillance equipment!
