Home / Technology / Ring's Dog Ad: Mass Surveillance Scare?
Ring's Dog Ad: Mass Surveillance Scare?
12 Feb
Summary
- Ring's new AI feature uses neighborhood cameras to find lost pets.
- Critics condemn the feature as a step towards mass surveillance.
- Security camera footage can be accessed by law enforcement with warrants.
A recent Super Bowl advertisement for Amazon's Ring camera, highlighting a new AI-powered "Search Party" feature designed to locate missing pets using neighborhood cameras, has drawn significant criticism. The feature, which activates multiple Ring cameras to scan for a lost dog, has been decried by politicians and social media users as a concerning development for mass surveillance.
This controversy emerges shortly after Ring announced a partnership with Flock Safety, a company specializing in license-plate scanning, fueling existing worries about potential data access by agencies like ICE. Concurrently, Google Nest footage taken the night of Nancy Guthrie's abduction from her home was recently released, showing a masked suspect, prompting further public scrutiny of smart security camera capabilities.
Security camera footage privacy is a major concern, as companies like Ring and Nest may be legally compelled to share recordings with authorities via subpoenas or court orders. In emergency situations involving immediate danger, companies can share video without user notification, and may even be restricted from disclosing such sharing due to legal constraints.
