The Doorbell Bunch

Ring, ring…! Doorbells abound at Peoria City Council. On July 23^rd, 2019, Peoria City Council entered into a contract with Ring Security (purchased by Amazon in early 2018) to provide discounted Ring security cameras to Peoria residents. City Council shelled out $50,000 to bring the cost down. Peoria residents will receive a $50 discount from the City and another $50 off from Ring, bringing the price down from $200 to about $100. The doorbells come with a A/V recorder which uploads the recording to a digital server for storage. The recording is active when the doorbell is rung or there is movement in front of the sensor. Along for the ride is Ring’s own personal app call Neighbor. Neighbor allows you to share your security recordings with those in your neighborhood and also receive updates from both the local police and Ring.

Peoria Police Department already has an agreement with Ring Inc. in order to get access to the videos. Ring users may opt-in to sharing videos with law enforcement. According to Councilman Montelongo and Amazon.com’s own policy, neither Ring Inc. nor law enforcement may access the videos. “However, the language in Ring’s privacy policy states otherwise, and specifies that the company may also supply customer footage without notice based on ‘requests by government agencies’ and ‘reasonable government request.‘”¹ Ultimately, only Amazon.com is responsible for keeping its word not to pry into personal videos. Staff Attorney at the ACLU of Southern California, Mohammad Tajsar says these loopholes benefit Amazon.com. “The only thing that can bind them, in theory, is either their privacy policies, which are often changing on us, and/or some other regulatory schemes that can prevent the kind of concerns that we have.”² Privacy concerns were only briefly mentioned at City Council and most members seemed more than willing to accept Amazon’s word.

Nor was their any critical analysis from City Council on the effects of forcing residents to engage in the Neighbors app. In order to use the Ring system, users must download the Neighbors app. The app keeps up-to-date crime reports and encourages all its users to post any and all suspicious videos. It’s in Amazon’s best interest to keep communities in continual fear of crime in order to sell more Ring products, regardless if crime is actually higher or lower in an area. This social-media app encourages residents to fear the worst about their own neighbors.

Finally, there was no analysis on the effect these social-media crime fighting tools have on racial disparities. “In Amazon’s version of a ‘new neighborhood watch,’ petty crimes are policed heavily, and racism is common. Video posts on Neighbors disproportionately depict people of color, and descriptions often use racist language or make racist assumptions about the people shown. In many ways, the Neighbors/Ring ecosystem is like a virtual gated community: people can opt themselves in by downloading the Neighbors app, and with a Ring camera, users can frame neighbors as a threat.”³ Not a single councilmember even brought up these issues.

Basically, Peoria City Council unanimously approved a $50,000 subsidy to a mega-corporation that has a vested interest in, not making communities safer, but in selling as many security tools as they can. Peoria will essentially be paying for a giant ad for Amazon. Instead of that $50,000 going towards education, infrastructure, or mental health in high-crime areas, the City just assisted Amazon in it’s own marketing scheme. Stay classy Peoria.

For more Fragments on Playing in Peoria, see here.

1. Cericola, Rachel. “Ring Neighbors Is the Best and Worst Neighborhood Watch App.” Wirecutter, New York Times Company, 19 Sept. 2019.
2. Ibid.
3. Haskins, Caroline. “Amazon’s Home Security Company Is Turning Everyone Into Cops.” Vice, 7 Feb. 2019.