The companyâs [Amazon] âRingâ doorbell camera system has been branded âthe largest civilian surveillance network the US has ever seenâ. Heavily marketed at neighbourhood watch groups, one in ten police departments are able to access its videos without a warrant and sometimes even order people to aim their Ring cameras at their neighbours.53 In 2022, Amazon admitted that it had provided Ring doorbell footage to police without ownersâ knowledge or consent,54 and a function to automatically activate cameras near where a 911 call is made could be introduced in the âno-so-distant futureâ.55
Meanwhile, the âNeighboursâ app, which allows people to upload footage from Ring products or other security cameras, has since developed a culture âcompletely obsessed with crime and the self-policing of neighbourhoods and users often resort to racial profilingâ.56
In summer 2021, authorities in Jackson, Mississippi unveiled a pilot program that would give police livestrean access to private security cameras throughout the city, including doorbell cameras placed in private homes, described by city mayor Chokwe Lumumba as âan opportunity to better observe and fill in the gapsâ.57 It wasnât the first; a city in Florida had earlier approved a similar plan and a proposed law in San Francisco would allow police to co-opt private cameras in real time.58
53 Lauren Bridges, âAmazonâs Ring is the largest civilian surveillance network the US has ever seenâ - theguardian.com (18 May 2021) https://bit.ly/3Q4USri
54 Tim Marcin, âAmazon admits Ring gives cops footage without customerâs knowledge or consentâ - mashable.com (16 July 2022) https://bit.ly/3q2jmXP
55 Alfred Ng, âAmazonâs Ring wanted to use 911 calls to activate its video doorbellsâ - cnet.com (24 September 2019) https://cnet.co/3v3rsSx
56 Caroline Haskins, âHow Ring Transmits Fear to American Suburbsâ - vice.com (6 December 2019) https://bit.ly/3Az1Cbr
57 Jon Schuppe & Bracey Harris, âPolice in Jackson, Mississippi, want access to live hone security video, alarming privacy advocatesâ - aclu-ms.org (02 December 2020) https://bit.ly/3Skt2JY
58 Jessica Lyons Hardcastle, âSan Francisco cops want real-time access to private security cameras for surveillanceâ - theregister.com (11 July 2022) https://bit.ly/3bnH258
I Am The Law: How Judge Dredd Predicted Our Future by Michael Molcher
