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Amazon-owned home security company Ring has partnered with Flock Safety, a company whose network of AI-assisted cameras is used by thousands of law enforcement agencies across the US—just weeks after announcing a similar tie-up with security firm Axon Enterprise.
The partnerships will allow police to send requests to Ring camera owners when they're trying to track down footage that could help in an ongoing investigation. The requests must include a specific location and timeframe, as well as details about what is being investigated.
This Community Requests feature is optional; agencies can’t see who received a notification or who chose not to respond. You can also turn off Community Request notifications altogether.
Amazon previously offered a similar program called Request for Assistance (RFA), which it phased out last year. Though 2,000 police departments across the country were thought to have used the feature, it was dogged by accusations of overreach and misuse among neighbors.
Last month, Ring revived the program under the Community Requests moniker. "We believe that when neighbors have simple, secure ways to look out for each other, we all benefit," it said.
However, the Flock partnership comes after 404 Media revealed that a division of ICE, the Secret Service, and the Navy’s Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) has access to Flock’s nationwide network of AI-enabled cameras.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said his office investigated reports of abuse by agencies using Flock technology, and "it is my view that Flock has built a dangerous platform in which abuse of surveillance data is almost certain," he wrote in a letter to Flock's CEO this week. "In particular, the company has adopted a see-no-evil approach of not proactively auditing the searches done by its law enforcement customers because, as the company’s Chief Communications Officer told the press, 'it is not Flock’s job to police the police.'"