Saturday, August 31, 2019

LOOKS LIKE A VERY GOOD PARTNERSHIP

Police Departments Nationwide Partner With Ring To View Doorbell Cam Footage

LAPPL News Watch
August 30, 2019

Amazon's Ring doorbell is partnering with more than 400 police departments across the country to monitor neighborhoods.

Ring released an official map showing the police forces that have joined their network. There's about 17 listed locally from Ventura to Orange County, including police departments in Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Pomona, Torrance and Westminster.

Police can now directly request videos recorded by homeowners.

Privacy advocates fear the program may threaten civil liberties and are calling for oversight and public discussion on the matter.

Ring released the following statement Wednesday in an announcement on the new feature: "Neighbors and local law enforcement have achieved amazing results by working together through the Neighbors app, from getting stolen guns off the streets to helping families keep their children safe, and even recovering stolen medical supplies for a diabetic child. Every member of a community plays a vital role in making neighborhoods safer, and we're proud that our users can decide how exactly they want to contribute to those conversations. We've also been thoughtful about designing how law enforcement engages with the Neighbors app to ensure users always stay in control of the information they share, and that their privacy is protected."

2 comments:

bob walsh said...

Nice thing about this is it is completely voluntary (until the cops get a warrant for your ring information.) You can avoid it completely by not having a ring doorbell.

Trey Rusk said...

Excerpt from Splinter News about a Dystopian plan being considered.

As President Donald Trump pays lip service to mental health instead of actually addressing America’s abysmal gun laws, a new report indicates the administration has reacted positively to a proposal to create a new federal agency tasked with identifying signs of mental illness using artificial intelligence and a suite of smart home appliances to gather data.

I don't know how accurate this is. I have a host of items in my home labeled SMART. In fact it would be hard to find a TV, cell phone or computer that can't listen to things happening in your home.