Amazon gave Ring camera footage to police without owners' consent

July 13 (UPI) -- Amazon gave Ring doorbell camera footage, without owners' consent, to police at least 11 times this year, according to findings released Wednesday.

Amazon's admission was made in a letter the online retail giant sent to Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., on July 1 after he raised privacy issues over the doorbell cameras.

"Ring's surveillance system threatens the public in ways that go far beyond abstract privacy invasion," Markey wrote in June. "Individuals may use Ring devices' audio recordings to facilitate blackmail, stalking and other damaging practices."

Amazon, which runs Ring cameras, had previously said the footage is handed over to police only if it is demanded by a court order, if the owner gives their permission or if there is an "emergency." Amazon said the 11 instances halfway through 2022 were "emergency situations," which the company defined as "cases involving imminent danger of death or serious physical injury to any person."

"It's simply untrue that Ring gives anyone unfettered access to customer data or video, as we have repeatedly made clear to our customers and others," a Ring spokesperson told UPI in an email.

"The law authorizes companies like Ring to provide information to government entities if the company believes that an emergency involving danger of death or serious physical injury to any person, such as kidnapping or an attempted murder, requires disclosure without delay. Ring faithfully applies that legal standard," the company said.

Markey said the findings from his investigation into Amazon, which bought the doorbell company in 2018, highlights the "close relationship between Ring and law enforcement.

"As my ongoing investigation into Amazon illustrates, it has become increasingly difficult for the public to move, assemble and converse in public without being tracked and recorded," Markey said in a statement Wednesday.

"Increasing law enforcement reliance on private surveillance creates a crisis of accountability, and I am particularly concerned that biometric surveillance could become central to the growing web of surveillance systems that Amazon and other powerful tech companies are responsible for," Markey added.

Amazon has repeatedly stated that police cannot view recordings unless clips are posted publicly or shared directly with police. Wednesday's letter is the first time the tech giant has confirmed it has handed over this information without an owner's consent.

Amazon's app called Neighbors allows users to post Ring camera footage and leave comments. Amazon currently has agreements with 2,161 police departments across the country allowing officers to use the app.

While Markey and others have raised privacy concerns, others say the cameras are useful crime-fighting tools that help police keep neighborhoods safe.

"In numerous property crimes, we have utilized the Ring portal and video received from it," Omaha Police Captain Steve Cerveny told KETV. "It's routinely used in those investigations and has proved useful recently in identifying suspects."