Amazon's Ring doorbell cameras attract congressional concern

Amazon's Ring doorbell cameras attract congressional concern
In this Tuesday, July 16, 2019, file photo, Ernie Field pushes the doorbell on his Ring doorbell camera at his home in Wolcott, Conn. Amazon-owned doorbell camera company Ring is facing questions from a U.S. senator over its partnerships with police departments around the country. Sen. Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, sent a letter Thursday to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos raising privacy and civil liberty concerns about Ring cameras that are capturing and storing footage of U.S. neighborhoods.(AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)

Amazon-owned doorbell camera company Ring is facing questions from a U.S. senator over its partnerships with police departments around the country.

Sen. Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, sent a letter Thursday to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos raising privacy and civil liberty concerns about Ring cameras that are capturing and storing footage of U.S. neighborhoods.

Markey is seeking more information from Bezos about Ring's video-sharing agreements with . The lawmaker says he's also alarmed that Ring may be pursuing that could flag certain people as suspicious.

Ring says it's reviewing the letter.

Many police agencies have said the partnerships with Ring's crime-focused social network serve as a digital neighborhood watch . Critics complain it turns neighborhoods into places of constant surveillance and creates suspicion that falls heavier on minorities.

The Washington Post reported last week that more than 400 police agencies have signed agreements with Ring since the company began the partnerships last year.

  • Amazon's Ring doorbell cameras attract congressional concern
    In this March 27, 2019 file photo, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., speaks during a Senate Transportation subcommittee on commercial airline safety, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Amazon-owned doorbell camera company Ring is facing questions from a U.S. senator over its partnerships with police departments around the country. Sen. Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, sent a letter Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019 to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos raising privacy and civil liberty concerns about Ring cameras that are capturing and storing footage of U.S. neighborhoods. Markey is seeking more information from Bezos about Ring's video-sharing agreements with law enforcement agencies. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
  • Amazon's Ring doorbell cameras attract congressional concern
    In this July 27, 2018 file photo, the logo for Amazon is displayed on a screen at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York. Amazon-owned doorbell camera company Ring is facing questions from a U.S. senator over its partnerships with police departments around the country. Sen. Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, sent a letter Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019 to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos raising privacy and civil liberty concerns about Ring cameras that are capturing and storing footage of U.S. neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

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