Police testing a program to Livestream Cameras Footage of Mississippi Residents

silversurfer

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Police in Mississippi are testing a program in which they can livestream video footage from private security cameras – including Ring doorbell cameras – installed at private homes and businesses.

The program in Jackson, Miss., to use the Ring door cameras as part of surveillance efforts, is being touted as a new way to help police fight rising crime, according to a report in the Jackson Free Press. However, the move is also sounding an alarm bell with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other privacy advocates who worry of surveillance issues.

The ACLU, however, called the launch of the program its “worst fears” being “confirmed,” in a Tuesday blog post by ACLU policy analyst Matthew Guariglia. The privacy watchdog group has long worried that using Amazon-owned Ring cameras for police surveillance is disastrous for people’s privacy and an overreach of authority by local law enforcement.

However, a Ring spokesperson told Threatpost, “this is not a Ring program and Ring is not working with any of the companies or the city in connection with this program.”
 
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MacDefender

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Just putting on my devil's advocate hat for a moment: If the owners of the camera consent to it, is it Ring that's "evil" or the owner that's evil?

I've had about $2000 of packages stolen in the last year, and I do use a camera and have it on video but the police don't have enough information to take action.... I can certainly understand some of the frustration around this.

But the article headline makes it sound like the police are just stealthily activating your Ring cameras to spy on you, when instead it sounds like as the owner of the camera you have to opt-in to this (which is similar to the existing police sharing feature in Ring).


FWIW when I mounted my Nest cameras, I took great care to angle them so they don't really record the road or my neighbors' yards. I want these cameras for my own safety and security but I also would feel guilty if I compromise the privacy of my neighbors at the same time.
 

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Cortex

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A while ago a relative of mine in the UK had cameras installed as he was having gear stolen, in the end he had pretty good shots of the perpetrators, the police did nothing, the video was not enough evidence - I've never bothered with cameras since then ?
 

silversurfer

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UPDATE
However, a Ring spokesperson told Threatpost, “this is not a Ring program and Ring is not working with any of the companies or the city in connection with this program.”

This article was updated on Nov. 4 at 11 AM to add a statement from Ring and to clarify that the program extends to all private security cameras – not exclusively Ring devices.
Source (the same as before from threatpost.com): Police to Livestream Ring Camera Footage of Mississippi Residents
 
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TairikuOkami

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That is nothing, Scotland is going 1984. You will have to watch, what you say, at home! The only way to implement it would be by monitoring like Eyeborgs.
UK on the hand will make sure, that you will not spend Christmas with your family (more than 6 people).
 

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