Amazon asks police to advertise ring cameras in partnerships



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In the case of Lakeland, the Florida Police Department, Amazon donated 15 camera-equipped bells and launched a program encouraging residents of Lakeland to download Neighbors, the Ring Neighborhood Watch app. . Each eligible download counts for $ 10 in the cost of another free doorbell. In return, Lakeland PD not only advertised Neighbors and Ring through "outreach efforts," but also created Ring-specific roles, such as a point of contact and coordinators for the press, social media, surveys and the community. Ring says Motherboard positions were not mandatory, but an email from a staff member of the Ring said that people in those roles had to participate in the company's online training session.

Amazon has also provided material support to many other cities (such as Albuquerque, Green Bay and Jersey City). They received Amazon branded crafting materials to create flight stings on packages and, in at least one case, provided flight cards for puncture planning.

A spokesman for Ring said the partnerships were not secret, unlike MotherboardThe original affirmation of, and went through public institutions before the officials sign them. The notifications and press releases of the Neighbors application also specify the alliances. Ring pointed out that the teams were meant to "make neighborhoods safer" and that there were "many positive examples" of cooperation.

While this may be true, these are not the main problems. In addition to the objections against companies and police who work so closely at the beginning, you contribute (with your consent) to a surveillance network that monitors your home and everything within sight of Ring's cameras. This raises questions about whether people are really prepared and confident that they can trust the cameras in their homes for the police.

There are also problems with the Neighbors app. Like Nextdoor, there is a problem of racial profiling that favors the culture of suspicion. Police may inadvertently create divisions at the request of Amazon.

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