NATONAL — Amazon and the tech surveillance company Flock Safety decided to end their partnership with Ring, the security system company.
The e-commerce and technology company ended its partnership after receiving backlash over an ad that aired during the Super Bowl.
The 30-second ad was to roll out a feature called “Search Party” that would allow people to help search for their lost dogs.
Ring camera users could share doorbell footage captured by their devices with pet owners through the Ring app.
This triggered nationwide criticism, with concerns that the feature could be used to surveil people.
Many believe that this was one of the surveillance features offered through Amazon’s partnership with Flock.
According to the Associated Press, the two companies were working on an option known as “Community Requests” that would allow Ring camera footage to be shared with law enforcement.
Amazon, which owns Ring, has faced questions about surveillance practices related to its security cameras.
The company issued a statement saying that videos were never shared with any law enforcement agency without the owner’s consent.
Flock, which manages one of the largest automated license plate reader (ALPR) systems, has also received criticism.
One of the top complaints was the sharing of information with law enforcement agencies, specifically federal law enforcement.
This raised questions about immigration and reproductive surveillance.
Several cities in Washington have stopped using Flock’s ALPRs within the past couple of months.
In a conversation with KIRO 7 back in December, the company denied sharing local law enforcement information with federal agencies without their consent.
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