Ring announced in a blog post on Wednesday that it will remove its “Request for Assistance” tool that allowed police departments and other emergency services to request footage captured on the doorbell cameras. Police and other services will still be able to post public messages on Ring’s Neighbors app to share safety tips and relevant updates. Ring enacted the policy shift in response to privacy critics who asserted that Ring’s relationship with law enforcement and in-app reporting tools were turning ordinary neighborhoods into high-surveillance areas. This new policy is an extension of Ring’s 2021 decision to make police requests for footage publicly visible. In 2022, Ring paid a $5.8 million settlement to the Federal Trade Commission over allegations that the company allowed employees and contractors to access user video streams without notification. Ring also stated it gave police departments 11 videos in 2022 without notifying Ring owners due to emergency circumstances. Under the new policy, police can still request video footage through the official search warrant process.
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