A Boring Dystopia

According to Ring's policy, they state that they ask for user's permission to get the footage. However, as the article mentions (but fails to provide the source actually) the Ring cameras have provided footage to law enforcement without a warrant or user's consent 11 times in 2022. Therefore while on paper, they are supposed to ask the user, there were already times when this was completely ignored, and could mean that the same could happen in the future.

The Intercept article about it (source that this article failed to include):

https://theintercept.com/2022/07/13/amazon-ring-camera-footage-police-ed-markey/

'Although Ring publicizes its policy of handing over camera footage only if the owner agrees — or if judge signs a search warrant — the company says it also reserves the right to supply police with footage in “emergencies,” defined broadly as “cases involving imminent danger of death or serious physical injury to any person.” Markey had also asked Amazon to clarify what exactly constitutes such an “emergency situation,” and how many times audiovisual surveillance data has been provided under such circumstances. Amazon declined to elaborate on how it defines these emergencies beyond “imminent danger of death or serious physical injury,” stating only that “Ring makes a good-faith determination whether the request meets the well-known standard.” Huseman [Amazon’s vice president of public policy] noted that it has complied with 11 emergency requests this year alone but did not provide details as to what the cases or Ring’s “good-faith determination” entailed.'

Also there is a NY Times article about it:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/28/business/amazon-ring-doorbell-camera-police.html

"In the letter, Amazon’s vice president of public policy, Brian Huseman, also said that Amazon had shared Ring footage with law enforcement 11 times in 2022 using a process that does not require the user’s consent."