Ring has once again started allowing police to request videos from users. Axon, a law enforcement technology developer and maker of the Taser stun gun, announced in April that it was partnering with Ring to allow customers to share “relevant video with law enforcement to help solve crimes faster and protect neighborhoods,” as previously reported by Business Insider.
The move reverses Ring’s plan to stop sharing video with police. Last year, the company canceled the “Request for Assistance” feature, which allowed law enforcement to ask people to provide camera footage through the Ring’s Neighbors app. At the time, the company said it would only allow police to request video during “emergencies,” which still allowed law enforcement to obtain video without a warrant, raising privacy concerns.
Now, Ring’s partnership with Axon will allow police to request video from Ring users through Axon’s digital evidence management system, although it is unclear whether this feature will be available in the Neighbors app. Once a request is made, Ring users can decide whether to send the video, and if they do, it will be “encrypted and securely added to the case file,” according to Axon. Axon also claims that Ring will not share information about users who refuse to share footage. A source told Business Insider that Ring is “exploring a new integration with Axon that would allow live streaming from Ring devices” if customers give permission.
Ring founder Jamie Siminoff, who returned to Amazon in April to lead the teams developing Ring, Blink, Amazon Key, and Sidewalk, said the integration would help advance Ring’s mission to “make neighborhoods safer.”
In the past, Ring has come under fire for allegedly helping police persuade users to share their videos, Motherboard reported in 2019. In 2023, Ring agreed to pay $5.8 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission, which alleged that its cameras allowed Ring employees and hackers to illegally spy on users.
In an April statement, Siminoff said: “This integration with Axon will facilitate a vital connection between our neighbors and the public safety agencies in their communities, enabling them to work together to keep their neighborhoods safe.”
By 2021, Ring will have partnered with more than 2,000 police and fire departments in nearly every state in the United States.
