Amazon is helping law enforcement with how to talk homeowners into giving up their private Ring video. The tech giant provides police with templates on how to request footage from homeowners, even though they don’t need a warrant.
Providing a template for law enforcement to take video from homeowners might be more of a marketing strategy on Amazon's part.
Tarleton State University associate dean with the school of criminology Dr. Alex Del Carmen said law enforcement has the right to obtain the video.
"We also have to be careful that this doesn't set a precedence for other means that as technology improves and it increases in terms of what it captures that we are always aware of our constitutional rights and those privacy rules that all Americans cherish," said Del Carmen.
He said law enforcement is completely within its rights to ask for home video when a crime is committed.
"Even if they're using a template that was actually given to them by Amazon, and the consumer, in this case the homeowner actually says 'yes, I relinquish my rights and here's the video', it is perfectly legal for law enforcement to obtain that," said Del Carmen.
Police don’t need a warrant to get Ring’s surveillance footage, yet they do need permission from camera owners.
Del Carmen added the facial recognition component also comes into play when law enforcement can't identify a person from home video.
Privacy advocates are urging police departments to stop partnering with Ring.