There’s also the risk that footage falls into the wrong hands and ends up enabling politically-motivated investigations, police harassment, or stalking without you intending or even knowing about it. Maybe company employees or third-party contractors gain access to videos, or your cameras are hacked. Amazon settled a privacy lawsuit brought by the FTC that mentioned both scenarios a few years ago.
More recently, ICE has been tapping into Flock’s automatic license plate reader (ALPR) cameras across the US, according to 404 media. What might it do with access to video doorbells?
Then there are doorbell owners. Camera footage is frequently shared online without the knowledge or permission of the subject. People on neighborhood networking apps and social media groups post videos of supposedly suspicious characters. Unfortunately, these suspicions are often subject to their prejudices, and racial profiling can be a real problem, as this research suggests. But, provided footage is captured in a public place, it’s perfectly legal to share it.
“Recording into windows, fenced backyards, or other private spaces on your property may be an invasion of privacy,” Emile Ayoub, senior counsel in the Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program, explained to WIRED. “But footage that captures public-facing sidewalks or driveways likely won’t have the same protection.”
So, What Are Your Rights?
The law is straightforward when it comes to the police.
“Unless presented with an official request via a warrant or other court order, users are not required to share their footage with law enforcement,” says Ayoub. ”Certain providers allow law enforcement to post on community message boards seeking footage from users. You can ignore or decline those requests.”
If your video footage is stored in the cloud, rather than on your device, law enforcement can compel companies to hand it over, he explained. Typically, law enforcement must obtain a warrant or similar court order, depending on the type of information they seek. But there are exceptions to the warrant requirement in the case of emergencies, such as an imminent danger of death or serious physical injury.
According to their privacy policies, providers like Ring and Nest will notify users about data demands from law enforcement, unless they are prohibited by law from doing so. Of course, no one reads the privacy policy before they set a doorbell up.
“This is one of the scariest things about the rapid privatization of police surveillance,” says the EFF’s Dr. Guariglia. “As more evidence begins its journey as corporate data, the public has less and less power to figure out what happens to your information inside the company, if they require a warrant, what their relationship is like with police, and whether your data has been turned over.”
How to Safeguard Your Video Doorbell Footage
There may be a $10K bounty awaiting anyone who can hack Ring cameras to stop sharing data with Amazon, but there are easier and quicker ways to safeguard your video doorbell footage. Getting rid of your doorbell altogether is the simplest way to put privacy concerns to bed, but if you find them useful, you could always just avoid cloud services.
“Own your data,” says Matt Sailor, founder of global digital surveillance manufacturer IC Realtime. “There’s no need for other people to have your data.”
