Amazon recently discontinued the access that police had to unwarranted viewing of ring camera footage. “Ring” is a company that allows homeowners to view the things happening outside of their home while they are away.
Amazon recently acquired Ring in February of 2018. This acquisition was not an isolated incident. Amazon has been buying companies in very important aspects of the American economy. This is happening while Amazon has a major monopoly in online sales.
Amazon’s Infinite Acquisitions
Amazon is currently known for the place to get anything a person could want. However, why is it that Amazon owns Ring, a company that has access to surveillance footage, or Whole Foods, a major grocery chain store.
The company currently has very high market share in the book publishing industry, and general online marketplaces.
If they continues to expand unchecked, the next merger will be with the economies of entire nations. The world already relies on Amazon, however, the world economy shouldn’t be entirely within the control of Amazon.
Policing and Control
The American police is one of the most oppressive and overmilitarized organizations in the entire world. They can steal from whomever they want, they have the license to kill whoever they want, and they have qualified immunity.
They kill dogs at high rates, engage in high rates of domestic abuse, and disproportionately kill Black Americans.
This organization shouldn’t have unwarranted full access to what is essentially surveillance footage. The police shouldn’t have access to things like ring footage.
The reason why is that every time people leave their homes, they could be potentially watched and recorded by the police.
Justice
This places a supreme level of power into unelected, and demonstrably bad hands. Luckily, it seems that Amazon is aware of the nuances of surveillance technology and is taking the situation seriously.
While the police should have never had unwarranted access to the footage in the first place, the citizens of America can rest easier now.
Written by Kenneth Mazerat
Sources
APNews: Ring will no longer allow police to request doorbell camera footage from users by Daniel Oberhaus
TheVerge: Amazon bought Ring for market position, not technology, emails suggest by Makena Kelly
Yahoo: Police Kill Dogs at an Alarming Rate
NBCNews: Report: Black people are still killed by police at a higher rate than other groups by Curtis Bunn
TempleEDU: Do 40% of police families experience domestic violence? by Joshua Klugman
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Daniel Oberhaus’ Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
First Inset Image Courtesy of Dan Dickinson’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
