#NothingButDragnet: EFF calls on @Shaq to stop endorsing police partnerships with Amazon's creepy, surveilling Ring doorbells

Cory Doctorow 6:42 am Tue Oct 22, 2019

Amazon's Ring surveillance doorbells are part of a secretive, nationwide police surveillance network, with cops being offered covert incentives to act as street-teams to buzz market the products, and with Amazon repeatedly misleading the public and reporters about when and how police can gain access to footage from the cameras.

Enter Shaquille O’Neal, slated to be the celebrity guest at the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference on October 27. O'Neal has served as a spokesman for Ring since 2016, thanks in part to his large stake in the company. His appearance at the conference will be attended by a giveaway of tens of thousands of dollars' worth of Ring gear to police chiefs.

EFF is calling on O'Neal to meet with them to discuss the privacy issues raised by Ring's police partnerships.

That’s why we’re turning to Shaq—and you. We’re asking for your help to tweet at Shaq and Ring and ask them to take these privacy concerns seriously. We’re hoping Shaq will sit down with us, one-on-one, and learn how these partnerships turn our neighborhoods into vast, unaccountable surveillance networks. These partnerships with Ring are #NothingButDragnet.

EFF Challenges Ring Spokesperson Shaq Over Privacy Concerns
[Matthew Guariglia and Jason Kelley/EFF]

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