CEO DATELINE - Association raises alarm about Amazon home surveillance system
CEO DATELINE - Association raises alarm about Amazon home surveillance system
- August 9, 2019 |
-
Walt Williams
Consider joining CEO Update. Membership gives full access to the latest intelligence on association management, career advancement, compensation trends and networking events, as well as hundreds of listings for senior-level association jobs.
An association representing the home monitoring industry says it is worried about Amazon partnering with police departments to promote the company's own security systems without notifying consumers about the relationship.
At issue are security systems made by the Amazon subsidiary Ring. The company has partnered with at least 225 police departments around the country to promote the systems, allowing police to sell and freely distribute video doorbells to residents, according to the industry news site Security Sales & Integration. Linked together, the doorbells create neighborhood video surveillance systems that have drawn criticism from privacy advocates. http://bit.ly/2yLubTz
The Monitoring Association recently issued a statement expressing its concern that the relationship between Ring and police is not made clear when the company's products are marketed to consumers. The group represents companies that compete with Ring for customers. (Ring is not an association member.)
"We are troubled by recent reports of agreements that are said to drive product-specific promotion, without alerting consumers about these marketing relationships," TMA President Ivan Spector said. "This lack of transparency goes against our standards as an industry, diminishes public trust and takes advantage of these public servants."
In a statement to the technology news site CNET, a Ring spokesman said his company doesn't require police to promote its products.
"When new law enforcement agencies come on board, we inform users through in-app alerts via a regional announcement," the spokesperson told CNET. "In addition, Ring does not support programs that require users to provide law enforcement with access to their cameras or footage as a condition for receiving a Ring device." https://cnet.co/2ZWWJVO
MORE CEO DATELINE