Washington (CNN Business) Amazon's smart-doorbell company, Ring, has provided surveillance footage to law enforcement without a warrant or the consent of doorbell-owners 11 times this year alone, according to a letter Amazon (AMZN (AMZN)) sent to Congress earlier this month.
The disclosure highlights the degree of Amazon's control over data generated by the doorbells' cameras and microphones, as well as its deepening relationships with thousands of police departments across the country.
The July 1 letter responding to questions by Sen. Ed Markey and made public by his office on Wednesday shows that Ring frequently makes its own "good-faith determinations" as to whether to provide surveillance data to law enforcement absent a warrant or the consent of the doorbell owner.
Under its policies, Ring "reserves the right to respond immediately to urgent law enforcement requests for information in cases involving imminent danger of death or serious physical injury to any person," the letter read. The company also requires police to fill out a special "emergency request form" if there is an urgent need to bypass the normal law enforcement process, according to the letter.
In each of the 11 cases this year, Amazon's VP of Public Policy Brian Huseman wrote, Ring determined that the police requests met the imminent-danger threshold and provided the information "without delay."
SwampTerror on July 14th, 2022 at 15:58 UTC »
I said Alexa why are you spying on me for Amazon? And she didn't respond, at all.
AgentBlue14 on July 14th, 2022 at 15:47 UTC »
Well, there goes me getting a Ring doorbell.
IamBerryValentine on July 14th, 2022 at 14:43 UTC »
Without a warrant or consent.
If you operate with the authorities without a warrant, we aren't friends anymore.