There’s also the risk that the footage could fall into the wrong hands and lead to politically motivated investigations, police harassment, or stalking without your intentions or even your knowledge. Company employees or third-party contractors may gain access to the video, or your cameras may be hacked. Amazon settled a privacy lawsuit brought by the FTC that mentioned both scenarios a few years ago.
Recently, ICE has been using Flock’s automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras across the US, according to 404 Media. What can it do with access to the video doorbell?
Then there are the doorbell owners. Camera footage is often shared online without the subject’s knowledge or permission. People post videos of alleged suspicious characters on neighborhood networking apps and social media groups. Unfortunately, these suspicions are often subject to their biases, and racial profiling can be a real problem, as this research shows. But, provided the footage was captured in a public place, it is perfectly legal to share it.
“Recording through your property’s windows, fenced backyard or other private spaces can be an invasion of privacy,” Emile Ayoub, senior counsel at the Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program, told WIRED. “But footage that captures public-facing sidewalks or driveways likely won’t have the same protections.”
So, what are your rights?
The law is simple when it comes to the police.
“Unless an official request is submitted via a warrant or other court order, users are not required to share their footage with law enforcement,” Ayoob says. “Some providers allow law enforcement to post on community message boards asking for footage from users. You can ignore or decline those requests.”
If your video footage is stored in the cloud instead of on your device, law enforcement can force companies to hand it over, he explained. Typically, law enforcement must obtain a warrant or similar court order, depending on the type of information they seek. But there are exceptions to the warrant requirement in case of an emergency, such as imminent danger of death or serious physical injury.
According to their privacy policies, providers like Ring and Nest will notify users about data demands from law enforcement unless they are prohibited by law from doing so. Of course, no one reads the privacy policy before ringing the bell.
“This is one of the scariest things about the rapid privatization of police surveillance,” says the EFF’s Dr. Guariglia. “As more evidence begins its journey as corporate data, the public has less and less power to find out what happens to your information inside the company, whether they need a warrant, what their relationship is with the police, and whether your data has been turned over.”
How to protect your video doorbell footage
There may be a $10,000 reward offered to anyone who hacks Ring cameras to stop sharing data with Amazon, but there are easier and faster ways to keep your video doorbell footage safe. Getting rid of your doorbell altogether is the easiest way to address privacy concerns, but you can always avoid cloud services if you find them useful.
“Own your data,” says Matt Seller, founder of global digital surveillance manufacturer IC Realtime. “There’s no need for other people to have your data.”
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