Amazon’s Ring doorbell cameras attract congressional concern

BOSTON – Amazon-owned doorbell camera company Ring is facing questions from a U.S. senator over its partnerships with police departments around the country.

Sen. Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, sent a letter Thursday to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos raising privacy and civil liberty concerns about Ring cameras that are capturing and storing footage of U.S. neighbourhoods.

Markey is seeking more information from Bezos about Ring’s video-sharing agreements with law enforcement agencies. The lawmaker says he’s also alarmed that Ring may be pursuing facial recognition technology that could flag certain people as suspicious.

Ring declined comment Thursday.

Many police agencies have said the partnerships with Ring’s crime-focused social network serve as a digital neighbourhood watch . Critics complain it turns neighbourhoods into places of constant surveillance and creates suspicion that falls heavier on minorities.