1 - @EFF revealed today how the LAPD have been requesting Ring doorbell cameras footage of Black Lives Matter protests (https://t.co/FtPoYH3Hn2). Here is a short thread on why this is part of a worrying bigger picture.

1.1 - Over 2,000 public safety agencies have signed formal partnerships with Ring worldwide. The partnerships allow police to use a law-enforcement portal to canvass local residents for footage without warrants.
https://t.co/zJKWdzOxZA
1.2 - Warrants exist to protect us. Law enforcement needs to justify access on reasonable suspicion.
1.3 - Normalising bulk footage requests from people without warrants is dangerous. It adds to the state's plethora of mass surveillance tools.
2 - Public-Private surveillance partnerships can seriously undermine our freedoms and alter democratic societies by normalising surveillance. You shouldn't have to worry that your tech purchases might be used for surveillance purposes.
2.1 - These public-private partnerships do not offer the transparency we need to scrutinise them. Often, only heavily redacted contracts make it to the public sphere.
3 - Police forces already have access to a variety of investigative tools and publicly-funded street cameras.
5 - One of Amazon's employees last year commented: "The deployment of connected home security cameras that allow footage to be queried centrally are simply not compatible with a free society. Ring should be shut down immediately and not brought back." https://t.co/jeLDkVSAsu
5.1 - We agree. This is another example of how public-private surveillance partnerships often put disproportionate power in the hands of the state. And any example is an example too much. Find out more about Ring: https://t.co/zJKWdzOxZA

More from Society

Imagine if Christians actually had to live according to their Bibles.


Imagine if Christians actually sacrificed themselves for the good of those they considered their enemies, with no thought of any recompense or reward, but only to honor the essential humanity of all people.

Imagine if Christians sold all their possessions and gave it to the poor.

Imagine if they relentlessly stood up for the widow, the orphan, and the foreigner.

Imagine if they worshipped a God whose response to political power was to reject it.

Or cancelled all debt owed them?

Imagine if the primary orientation of Christians was what others needed, not what they deserved.

Imagine Christians with no interest in protecting what they had.

Imagine Christians who made room for other beliefs, and honored the truths they found there.

Imagine Christians who saved their forgiveness and mercy for others, rather than saving it for themselves.

Whose empathy went first to the abused, not the abuser.

Who didn't see tax as theft; who didn't need to control distribution of public good to the deserving.

You May Also Like

Still wondering about this 🤔


save as q