Federal lawmakers are asking Amazon to provide details on Ring's partnerships with local police dating back to 2013. The U.S. House subcommittee on economic and consumer policy sent Amazon a letter with a series of questions about its dealings with law enforcement Wednesday.
<p>Ring has been navigating scrutiny from the government and privacy advocates over its law enforcement program for months. The company develops smart doorbells and security cameras under the Amazon umbrella.</p><p>Raja Krishnamoorthi, chair of the subcommittee, asked Amazon to send records of all Ring agreements with local law enforcement agencies for the past seven years. The subcommittee also wants to know which of those agencies use Amazon's facial recognition software. Additional details on Ring's privacy safeguards, marketing, and other business practices were also requested.</p><p>"The subcommittee is examining traditional constitutional protections against surveilling Americans and the balancing of civil liberties and security interests, " Krishnamoorthi said in the letter.</p><p>The representative asked Amazon to respond by March 4.</p><p>This story originally <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2020/house-lawmakers-question-ring-partnerships-police/" target="_blank">appeared on GeekWire</a>.</p>
Read more
Show less
Ring unveiled new security steps for customers when logging into their doorbell camera accounts, making two-factor authentication mandatory as the Santa Monica-based company battles criticism about privacy and unauthorized access to its technology.
The Amazon-owned company said in a blog post on Tuesday that the change is now rolling out to customers, and adds authentication to help "prevent unauthorized users from gaining access to your Ring account, even if they have your username and password." Users receive a one-time, six-digit code via SMS or email, and must enter that in before they can access the Ring account.
<p>The beefed-up security measures come in response to a <a href="https://twitter.com/fox5dc/status/1206579530112077824?s=20" target="_blank">slew of reports of hacks</a>, including one where a hacker was able to watch and communicate with an 8 year-old girl. The Amazon.com, Inc.-owned company unveiled its new privacy dashboard at the start of 2020 that allows people to see who has access to their device, but did not make two-factor authentication mandatory at the time.</p><p>"Our account safety and security is our priority," said Leila Rouhi, Ring's president. "We will stay vigilant and continue to give you more transparency and control over your devices and personal information, and help keep your home and Ring account secure and protected."</p><p>The authentication change also comes as a new federal lawsuit looms about privacy concerns. Amazon.com and Ring were sued in federal court in Los Angeles on Dec. 26, by a man who said his kids were playing basketball when a voice came on their Ring device's two-way speaker system commenting on their play and encouraging them to get closer to the camera. The plaintiff, John Baker Orange of Jefferson County, Alabama, then changed his password and enabled two-factor authentication. His password was previously "medium-strong" the lawsuit states.</p><p>The lawsuit filed as a class action states that the company has "attempted to distance itself from liability by blaming customers for failing to create strong security passwords" when their devices are hacked. But "it is Ring who failed to provide sufficiently robust security measures such as two-factor authentication and other protocols necessary to maintain the integrity and inviolability of its cameras.</p><p>"As a result of Ring's defective design, and its failure to imbue its WiFi cameras with sufficient security protocols, its customers' most basic privacy rights were violated along with the security and sanctity of their homes."</p><p>More recently, <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/01/ring-doorbell-app-packed-third-party-trackers" target="_blank">the company has been hit with criticisms</a> about its sharing of user data with third-party service providers. Rouhi noted that the company will immediately put a temporary pause on the use of "most" third-party analytics services in the Ring apps and websites, while it works on giving users abilities to opt out of sharing their data with third-parties. Those additional options will be available in early Spring, Rouhi wrote.</p><p>Beginning this week, users will be able to opt out of sharing their information with third-party service providers for personalized ads.</p>
<p>"You might think you built this amount of trust with Ring because there's this app that protects the home. But in reality they're sending that data to third parties, they're partnering with law enforcement across the country without their customer knowledge, they've been the subject of hacks that have revealed user passwords, and then they blame the customer for it," said William Budington, a senior staff technologist for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit digital rights advocacy group, in a recent interview with dot.LA.</p><p>__<br/></p><p><em>Do you have a story that needs to be told? My DMs are open on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/latams" target="_blank">@latams</a>. You can also <a href="mailto:mailto:tami@dot.la" target="_self">email me</a>, or ask for my Signal.</em></p>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjc3NTgxMi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMTc2NzQ5Mn0.YMJSuJNj8iJC0iV87XCmOuLcbmSzXMtXU4r4WlFFxOs/image.png?width=980" id="390e7" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5d7cc51d235eefaf08cb66ef2eeed0fc" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Image courtesy of Ring
An image of the new required two-factor authentication that will greet users when they go to login to the Ring app. They will receive a unique six-number code via text or email to enter into their phone.
From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Around the Web
Read more
Show less
- Upfront Summit will bring together top names in media, tech and finance from singer John Legend to Quibi CEO Meg Whitman
- Sustainability, climate change, white privilege and streaming are on the agenda
- The Takeaway: Upfront set to attract investors backed with billions in capital
Upfront Ventures kicks off its technology and startup conference on Wednesday, and this year's lineup includes everyone from Clippers chairman Steve Ballmer to Netflix content chief Ted Sarandos. And, given the event is in Hollywood's back yard, musician John Legend, Ice Cube, and even Paris Hilton are set to speak.
<p>The Upfront Summit, now in its eighth year, is expected to attract more than 1,200 attendees flocking to the Rose Bowl Jan. 29-30. The invite-only event brings together a diverse mix of entrepreneurs networking with venture players armed with billions of dollars in capital, and headlined by presentations from business leaders including Quibi Chief Executive Meg Whitman, Union Square Ventures' Fred Wilson, and Idealab founder Bill Gross.</p><p>And this year's conference is expected to take on a theme of sustainability, with panelists like Gross, addressing climate change. The topic takes on more significance this week after <a href="https://dot.la/amazon-workers-will-take-part-in-climate-change-protests--2644926421.html" target="_self">Amazon</a> workers threatened to protest about their company's environmental stance, despite threats of termination if they do. </p><p>"If the world doesn't solve its sustainability problem, there is no world," said Upfront Managing Partner Mark Suster. "As a result we are not only solving society's biggest problems, but that's where a lot of the money goes."</p><p>The event will also tackle issues of diversity and white privilege, along with panels on venture capital, entrepreneurship and the changing media landscape. The summit, which will be live-streamed for the first time, was originally started as a way to counter what Suster believes was a perception that investors were reluctant to sink money into Los Angeles because "it's an entertainment town."</p><p>Indeed, today's Los Angeles economy thrives from a cross-pollination of companies where SpaceX sits alongside the scientific community, and tech titans like Snap or Riot Games co-exist with retail ventures like Dollar Shave Club and Sweetgreen.<br></p><p>The convergence of Hollywood and technology are certainly going to be front-and-center at this year's conference. The meteoric rise of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu launched a streaming war that lured in competitors from Apple to Quibi. NBCUniversal got into the action on Jan. 16 when it announced the launch of its Peacock streamer. </p><p>Celebrities, whose eye-catching names add a bit of glitz to the Upfront Summit, can't be counted out. After all, this is the town where Ashton Kutcher jumped into the venture capital game, Gwyneth Paltrow launched Goop, and Jessica Alba unveiled Honest Co. </p><p>That's certainly a boon to Southern California, where the entertainment industry pumped $115.7 billion into the Los Angeles and Orange County economies (including consumer and other ancillary spending). Los Angeles county is also the nation's top manufacturing base.</p><p>For Suster, the conference has the added bonus of giving Upfront a better view about potential investments. The Santa Monica-based firm is one of the region's largest and oldest venture capital players known for its early and seed investment in companies like TrueCar, Maker Studios and Ring. And there's some money to spend. Last year it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to raise $250 million in an Upfront Growth III fund for later stage companies. "We are proudly long L.A.," Suster said.</p><p>Links to the conference agenda and the livestream can be found <a href="https://summit.upfront.com/live" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p><em>Upfront Ventures holds a non-controlling, minority interest in dot.LA.</em></p>
Related Articles Around the Web
Read more
Show less