Amazon and Flock Safety have ended a partnership that would’ve given law enforcement access to a vast web of Ring cameras.
The decision came after Amazon faced substantial backlash for airing a Super Bowl ad that was meant to be warm and fuzzy, but instead came across as disturbing and dystopian.
The ad begins with a young girl surprised to receive a puppy as a gift. It then warns that 10 million dogs go missing annually. Showing a series of lost dog posters, the ad introduces a new “Search Party” feature for Ring cameras that promises to revolutionize how neighbors come together to locate missing pets.
At that point, the ad takes a “creepy” turn, Sen. Ed Markey (D.-Mass.) told Amazon CEO Andy Jassy in a letter urging changes to enhance privacy at the company.
Illustrating how a single Ring post could use AI to instantly activate searchlights across an entire neighborhood, the ad shocked critics like Markey, who warned that the same technology could easily be used to “surveil and identify humans.”
Ring cancels Flock deal after dystopian Super Bowl ad prompts mass outrage
Submitted 4 weeks ago by Powderhorn@beehaw.org to technology@beehaw.org
als@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 weeks ago
They’ve been working with police directly for years, I don’t know why people suddenly care
smeg@feddit.uk 4 weeks ago
Because suddenly a large number of people who didn’t know now do?
p03locke@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 weeks ago
Yeah, this is walking one thing back to get away with their still-bad behaviors.
belated_frog_pants@beehaw.org 4 weeks ago
Never a bad time to wake up