00:00Have you ever felt like you're not the only one watching your Ring doorbell?
00:03Well, pretty soon that might be the case.
00:05Amazon's Ring cameras, a staple on suburban doorsteps,
00:08are now part of a much bigger surveillance ecosystem
00:11thanks to a new partnership with Flock Safety.
00:13Flock runs AI-powered license plate readers
00:15and neighborhood-wide camera networks used by police, federal agencies, and ICE.
00:20And reportedly, ICE is accessing Flock's license plate tracking data
00:24through local police departments,
00:26letting them use it for immigration searches
00:28without needing a direct deal with the company,
00:30which has drawn mass criticism from lawmakers.
00:33Through this deal, law enforcement using Flock's platforms like FlockOS and Nova
00:37can now send video requests directly to Ring users via the Neighbors app.
00:41That means your doorbell cam footage could be part of a broader investigation,
00:45even if you weren't aware of it.
00:47Ring recently removed its app-based police request feature,
00:50which had allowed law enforcement to ask users for footage without a warrant.
00:54Now those requests must go through formal legal channels,
00:57but with Flock in the mix, agencies can still ping users for help,
01:00just through a different system.
01:02It's a significant shift that's raising privacy concerns,
01:04especially since Flock AI once claimed it could eliminate crime entirely
01:08using predictive tech and real-time data.
01:11Critics argue that such claims are not only unrealistic,
01:13but also amplify bias and overreach.
01:16But for now, everyday Americans with Ring cameras
01:18still have a choice to share or ignore requests for footage.
01:21So do you think this is a smarter way to fight crime,
01:23or a step too far into AI-powered policing?
01:26Let us know in the comments and follow us here for more.
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