Markey Asks Amazon to Block Private Policing From Ring Surveillance

Amazon should permanently ban private policing agencies from joining its Neighbors Public Safety Service, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., wrote the company Tuesday, citing privacy invasions from Amazon Ring. Markey noted more than 2,100 “policing agencies have apparently joined” NPSS, a platform “on which participating police departments may request footage from Ring users.” That’s a 500% increase since 2019, he said: “Reports indicate that multiple police departments have attempted to bypass Ring’s video request process, including by gaining direct access to user footage in real time.” Ring previously placed a moratorium on onboarding private policing agencies onto NPSS. The company didn’t comment.