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Amazon Ring Cashes in on Techno-Authoritarianism and Mass Surveillance (www.eff.org)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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Ring founder Jamie Siminoff is back at the helm of the surveillance doorbell company, and with him is the surveillance-first-privacy-last approach that made Ring one of the most maligned tech devices. Not only is the company reintroducing new versions of old features which would allow police to request footage directly from Ring users, it is also introducing a new feature that would allow police to request live-st

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[–] 5 points 1 year ago (14 children)

The best thing is you don't need any of that. Just install normal doorbell. We all love gadgets but some of them are just not worth it.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago (13 children)

    Hard agree. What does a video doorbell connected to the internet solve? I'm concerned that people dont trust their neighbors to this extent. Sort of a canary in the coal mine type thing.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    I don’t have a doorbell of any kind (the button isn’t even hooked up to anything). My neighbours are jerks but they won’t steal packages or anything like that.

    We’re living in a low trust society that used to be a high trust society a few decades ago. I believe all of the problems you see in politics ultimately stem from this. Factionalism is tearing western society apart.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago

    Crime has been dropping for decades, yet news coverage is higher than it's ever been. The oligarchs know we're easier to rule if we distrust each other so we don't work together and figure out who's actually screwing us over.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago* (9 children)

    What does a video doorbell connected to the internet solve? I'm concerned that people dont trust their neighbors to this extent. Sort of a canary in the coal mine type thing.

    It's not that I don't trust my neighbors, I don't trust anyone outside of those I personally know well.

    Growing up around people who abuse hard drugs tends to destroy the trust you have in those around you after you have your shit stolen repeatedly. Both my wife and I had shit stolen from closed front porches when we were growing up, so I have cameras that watch the sides of my house. But I also built my system from scratch, so I am not worried about third party snooping/reporting.

    Plenty of us have good reasons not to trust those around us. Especially in this day and age of terrorists walking around with state authority.

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  • [–] -2 points 1 year ago (8 children)

    Neighbors can be people you dont well, you should still trust them anyways, because you'd want them to treat you the same.

    If you have drug addicts regularly causing you problems, might do you some good to befriend them in some way or help them out, instead of secure your shit and avoid them more. They aren't any different than you are.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    I grew up around drug addicts, and in my experience, befriending them doesn't protect your shit. I had my PS3 stolen by a dude we showed nothing but kindness too when he needed a fix. Don't get me wrong, addicts can be super chill people, but they'll still steal from you when they need to get high.

    Friend, family or stranger, don't kid yourself that they won't steal from you

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  • [–] -1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Never said it would protect your shit, just that it likely would be better in the long run for everyone involved. Its not an easy problem to solve but I dont think we need to treat people poorly because of it. I understand if its just not possible to assume the financial risk though.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (1 child)

    Never said it would protect your shit, just that it likely would be better in the long run for everyone involved. Its not an easy problem to solve but I dont think we need to treat people poorly because of it.

    Just because I don't trust those around me and use cameras doesn't mean I treat people poorly. I am very respectful to the people who live and work around me, but that doesn't mean I trust them not to take something that isn't theirs.

    Lack of trust does not equal disrespect, it just means I've seen the true side of a lot of people and don't wish to let them take advantage of the kind of naivety that you display here.

    I understand if its just not possible to assume the financial risk though

    It's not that I'm unable to assume the risk, I'm unwilling to be taken advantage of.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (3 children)

    If you're still talking about getting shit stolen off your porch, anyone within driving distance could be responsible for it.

    Do you really think it's possible to try to become friends with or "help out" every asshole within a 10 minute drive of where you live? Or even identify everyone in that range who might have sticky fingers?

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (2 children)

    Not concerned about porch pirates at all, people shouldnt order stuff like this.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (1 child)

    Not concerned about porch pirates at all

    Not everyone has been blessed with the same gift of blissful ignorance that you have.

    I agree that people shouldn't order Ring, it's a shitty product for the reasons laid out in this thread and article. But "just be nicer to everyone around you" is not a viable alternative, and suggesting it is dismissive of the realities other people are living.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    I dont order anything, so I dont worry about porch pirates, has nothing to do with "blessings" whatever that refers to.

    I dont like walking down the sidewalk and realizing I'm being filmed from someone's doorstep, its unnecessary and invasive. I dont want people around me to feel like that, and all I would get by having cameras is the opportunity to prosecute someone from my community for a petty crime. Not interested in any of that.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    I think some people also think they need it because they order way too much junk from the internet but it's really just an indication of bad habits. If it's for security a single camera doorbell is definitely not adequate solution either.

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