Security News > 2020 > July > Ring Doorbell’s Police Partnerships Questioned Over Racial Bias

A U.S. congressman is asking Amazon if it plans to place a moratorium on police access to its Ring smart doorbell video footage, citing concerns around surveillance and racial bias.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, argued that Amazon's commitment to joining "The fight against systemic racism and injustice" is undermined as long as it continues its existing partnership with police departments for Ring doorbell access.

"The Subcommittee is concerned that these partnerships give police a much wider system of surveillance than police legally could build themselves," according to the letter, sent Wednesday.

The partnerships between Ring and law enforcement began in 2018 and has extended to now include at least 1,300 police departments across the U.S. The partnership allows homeowners to provide voluntary access to camera footage to officers, via a Neighbors app.

Beyond this letter, Ring's police partnership has drawn concerns from privacy experts over the years, with over 30 consumer advocacy groups in 2019 urging local legislators to intervene in doorbell-camera company Ring's partnerships with law enforcement.

News URL

https://threatpost.com/rings-police-partnerships-racial-bias/157140/