Amazon is changing how law enforcement agencies can obtain footage from Ring, with the changes making clear that the agencies are no longer allowed to contact users directly.
In a revision to guidelines, Amazon has revised previous vague guidance. Going forward, instead of emailing Ring users privately, law enforcement agencies will now be required to make public requests in the Neighbors app.
"Request for Assistance posts can only be issued from verified public safety agency profiles," Amazon said in a blog post last week. "We have guidelines in place to prevent overly broad requests, and all public safety agencies must abide by our Request for Assistance Policy and Guidelines."
If an incident occurs in a user's area, law enforcement agencies have a 12-hour timeframe around an incident to request footage from users in the relevant area. Amazon defines the "relevant area" as being contained within 0.025 and 0.5 square miles around where an incident has occurred.
The blog also states that police departments are not allowed to intentionally gather information about lawful activities, with protests specifically labeled as prohibited.