Ring cancels its partnership with Flock Safety after an ad showing dog-finding AI sparked privacy concerns about tech used to track people.
San Francisco: Ring, a company owned by Amazon, has stopped its plan to connect its cameras with Flock Safety’s license plate reader system. Ring said the plan needed more time and work than they thought. The company said no videos from Ring cameras were ever sent to Flock.
Last week, Ring showed a Super Bowl ad for its new Search Party feature. This feature uses artificial intelligence to help families find lost dogs. Some people worried that if it can find dogs, it could also be used to find people. Ring got many questions and concerns about this.
Ring has faced problems before over privacy issues. The company used to have a tool that let police get videos from people’s cameras without a judge’s order. Ring removed this tool earlier in 2024. Flock Safety has also drawn criticism because its cameras track car movement across many areas. News reports say immigration officials have secretly used Flock’s system to track immigrants.
The situation shows how people worry about companies that sell surveillance tools to police and other government groups. These tools can watch people’s daily lives without them knowing. Privacy groups say this makes communities less free and more like places where everyone is watched all the time.