Tools like Amazon Ring’s doorbell system are often touted as a solution to safety concerns. But the reality hiding behind this seemingly simple tool reveals a much darker, deeper, and growing network that uses our privacy as currency.

The COVID crisis, with new requirements for social distancing and working from home, has made us even more reliant on technology. From Zoom calls, to being able to see who is at our door without ever getting up, this technology is more convenient than ever. However, this convenience and comfort comes at a steep cost: billion-dollar companies like Amazon swapping our most intimate personal data.

The companies creating this type of smart technology emphasize the need to gather our data to help make the devices even smarter, promising us a better and more personalized experience. The reality is much darker. With a collection of household electronic devices inside your home and out, companies are building a network of third parties with whom they can share the data those devices collect.

This means that every time we bring home new technology, we give up our privacy and put our personal data into the hands of others. Those hands could belong to other companies or even government agencies. Such public-private partnerships are often created in the name of security, but in reality, harm our privacy and civil rights. 

Just take a look at Amazon’s Ring doorbell system, which as of October 2020, brings with it a network of more than 1,550 law enforcement agencies across the country. All of those agencies are now able to access video footage collected by Ring’s doorbell system—footage that captures activities at the home’s doorstep, the street, and often even the homes across the street. By partnering with Amazon, our government has essentially built an entirely new surveillance system that’s always watching – but never asking for permission.

Throughout this summer, we heard a number of public voices advocate for the widespread adoption of smart doorbell security cameras like Amazon Ring to help address crime. Most recently, Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez introduced a proposal at a city council meeting calling for the Chicago Police Department to join forces with companies like Amazon Ring, ADT, Vivint and “otherdoorbell security camera operators whose systems are compatible with cameras already linked to the city’s 911 emergency center.”  And as of October 2020, CPD acted on this by introducing the RING Neighbors for Law Enforcement Portal Pilot Program.

While some think that adding thousands of new cameras for local law enforcement is a good thing, the reality raises concerns about privacy implications, racial profiling, and less than transparent public-private partnerships – all while expanding the “Big Brother” surveillance overreach we have already seen in major cities like Chicago.  In fact, the most recent partnership by CPD does not even require ownership of a Ring product for access.  Instead, it relies on a “commercially available, free-to-use, software application,” which allows subscribers to get “real-time crime and safety alerts from participating neighbors and local law enforcement.”

This Orwellian reality is even scarier when we consider the recent announcement out of Jackson, Mississippi, committing to the launch of a 45-day pilot program live streaming Ring camera footage to the police. The program would allow owners of Ring devices to patch the camera streams from their front doors directly to the city’s Real Time Crime Center.  This means that anyone walking their dog, taking out the trash, delivering packages, or simply walking past a Ring-equipped front door is now victim to police scrutiny; regardless of whether they consent to having their footage used in this way or not.

We have seen from the past that an increase in camera surveillance of neighborhoods does not mean that more crimes are being solved. In fact, a study examining the impact of Ring technology in Aurora found that property crime had actually fallen by a slightly greater percentage the year before the Aurora Police Department’s partnership with Amazon.

Moreover, reliance on this type of technology can increase worry and fear among residents, which results in a larger number of false alarms and handing over hours of video footage of neighbors - who never consented to be filmed in the first place - into the hands of law enforcement. This also highlights the greater racial disparities among people reported for potentially criminal behavior because of doorbell cameras.

The inefficiency of this technology, coupled with a distrust of law enforcement within communities of color, exacerbates the harm of deceptive advertising adopted by companies like Amazon. When we see advertisements for Amazon’s Ring, it is very apparent that these government-sponsored surveillance systems are not advertised. We are not shown the data-sharing schemes these companies have entered into, nor are we shown how much data this technology is actually able to collect.

Amazon is only one example of the many corporations building and marketing technology that profit by sharing our data. This leaves consumers with the responsibility to do our own due diligence by researching every product we are considering - or even offered for free.

Do we take advantage of this this new technology because it’s convenient? Is the potential feeling of comfort offered by the device worth the privacy we are giving up? Those should not be our only options. We should not have to choose between protecting our privacy and helpful technology that can add value to our lives.

Luckily, the solution is right in front of us: law enforcement and companies like Amazon should not partner up and use our privacy as currency. Until that happens, residents will continue to live in fear that thousands of government eyes will watch their every move, even as they enter their own home, visit a friend, or walk their dog on the street. That type of government overreach is the last thing Illinois needs right now.

The ACLU of Illinois today responded to the City of Chicago’s announcement of a security plan for Election night and beyond. The following can be attributed to Colleen K. Connell, Executive Director of the ACLU of Illinois:
 
“This election season has been extraordinary – marked by millions of Americans waiting for hours to vote early and millions of others voting by mail. Still other Americans have encouraged those waiting to cast their ballot with advocacy, music, dancing and even cookies and pizza. In this difficult time, the American people have come together to fight the pandemic, challenge blatant voter suppression and make their voices heard.
 
These voices will not fall silent on Tuesday. In the wake of the election, millions Americans will continue to exercise free expression – including some who will gather together in the streets of Chicago. Some will celebrate the election’s outcome; others will communicate their disappointment; and still others will want to articulate their vision of policies that make our neighborhoods and our country better. No matter the message, these are voices of Americans who have a yearning and a right to come together and be heard. 
 
The City of Chicago recently announced plans for these gatherings after the election. Above all else, any such plan must be based on welcoming all voices on to Chicago’s iconic streets and plazas to share their messages — not on silencing dissent through curfew, restrictions of transportation to and from protests, or policing that harms people. This requirement that government respect the rights of Americans to assemble and speak is embedded in our Constitution, and it is the process for improving our country. 
 
Let’s count every vote and then celebrate freedom to assemble and to speak!”

When the ACLU of Illinois founded the Next Generation Society in 2015, our goal was to bring together a diverse group of people united by a common commitment: to support the essential work of the ACLU. For a century, the ACLU has fought tirelessly to hold America to its promises. And over the last five years, the Next Generation Society has played a critical role in that fight. We have grown into a vibrant and vital part of the ACLU’s efforts to protect protestors’ First Amendment rights, reimagine policing, uphold reproductive freedom, preserve privacy, and much more.
 
Activism and engagement have been central to Next Gen’s identity and impact from the start. Next Gen members have organized and participated in ACLU fundraising and events, taken to the streets, championed legislative initiatives, and served as cooperating attorneys and volunteers. When the Trump Administration issued the Muslim ban, Next Gen members showed up at O’Hare Airport to protest.

When the administration ramped up surveillance on social media, Next Gen organized to share actionable guidance about protecting your privacy. Next Gen board members organized the benefit concert RiseUp and launched an annual celebrity-chef dinner, with the proceeds funding the ACLU’s work.

When the ACLU needed additional resources because of the unprecedented number of attacks on our rights, Next Gen launched the Freedom Fund, an ambitious campaign to raise $1 million dollars for the ACLU over five years. And thanks to the commitment of its members and supporters, Next Gen is now able to fully fund an ACLU staff attorney position each year. 
 
On the eve of a consequential election, we must remain focused on the challenges we will face regardless of the outcome. As crucial as this election is, its outcome will not automatically fix policing, reform the broken criminal legal system, or end our prison-industrial complex. It will not end the siege on reproductive rights in the courts. And it will not reunite the 545 children who still remain separated from their parents by the Trump administration’s cruel family separation practice because their parents have not been found.
 
The hard work is just beginning. We will need the ACLU and the Next Generation Society not only to undo the many harms of the Trump Administration, but to rebuild our country and finally realize its unmet promises of equality and justice for all. In the end, we believe the promise of America – our values, our democracy, and above all, our shared humanity – is worth fighting for.

We want to thank every member of the Next Generation Society for helping the ACLU in this fight. We will stand on the front lines, together, as long as it takes for America to fulfill its promise to all its people.