"First of all, many of them, like this one, seem to conflate two separate issues: poor security practices and then the dystopic, surveillance concerns. I don't see the two being particularly related."
Since the poor security practices have led to people getting spied upon and harassed, those poor security practices are clearly related to dystopic surveillance concerns.
The article also directly addresses larger issues than poor security practices. Two examples:
"And Amazon's surveillance doorbell cameras are just the start: The company is selling a multitude of other gadgets equipped with microphones, cameras and sensors, all designed to gather enormous amounts of data, which Amazon refines -- like crude oil -- into power and profit. Alexa, the company's "home assistant," is constantly listening and explosive investigations revealed that Amazon employees have also listened, via Alexa, not just to private conversations, but also to deeply intimate moments such as couples having sex or kids singing in the shower. Amazon even marketed its microphone-enabled Echo Dot Kids directly to children."
"Amazon devices aren't just giving hackers and Amazon employees an eye or an ear into our homes. The company has also partnered with more than 600 police departments across the country to tap into the surveillance network its customers are creating for them, developing a seamless process for government agents to request footage from tens of thousands of Ring cameras without warrants or any judicial oversight."
> Since the poor security practices have led to people getting spied upon and harassed, those poor security practices are clearly related to dystopic surveillance concerns.
Typically, these dystopias generally imply state surveillance on an unwilling or unsuspecting populace. Yes, hackers can gain access to your indoor security cameras, but that only affects people willingly installing security cameras inside their own homes and adhering to bad security practices. Doorbell cameras aren't compelling targets for hackers, which is why all of the stories we hear are about cameras installed in someone's bedroom. And I don't see how this differentiates Ring's products in any way from having your bank account hacked, or your email, or any other personal data. Problematic and worth consideration? Yes. Dystopic? Not really.
> "And Amazon's surveillance doorbell cameras are just the start: The company is selling a multitude of other gadgets equipped with microphones, cameras and sensors, all designed to gather enormous amounts of data, which Amazon refines -- like crude oil -- into power and profit. Alexa, the company's "home assistant," is constantly listening and explosive investigations revealed that Amazon employees have also listened, via Alexa, not just to private conversations, but also to deeply intimate moments such as couples having sex or kids singing in the shower. Amazon even marketed its microphone-enabled Echo Dot Kids directly to children."
Entirely valid complaints, regarding Alexa devices. Its unrelated to Ring, and especially doorbell cameras. Unless people are having numerous and long private conversations in front of their doorbell, it seems again like those concerns don't apply here.
> The company has also partnered with more than 600 police departments across the country to tap into the surveillance network its customers are creating for them, developing a seamless process for government agents to request footage from tens of thousands of Ring cameras without warrants or any judicial oversight.
Can someone verify this? Because I was under the impression that customers had to opt in. And regardless, I still fail to see what people might be concerned about regarding doorbell cams. They aren't capturing anything that isn't readily available.
Perhaps these are arguments against putting Ring security cameras in your house, but I still am not seeing the end of the world scenarios these articles are prophesying resulting from doorbell cameras.
First, you say "I don't see how security cameras, or at least the video doorbells, are more dangerous than all of the other things we've just already accepted, like constant tracking of our positions via smartphones and our online browsing habits."
Then, you say "Entirely valid complaints, regarding Alexa devices. Its unrelated to Ring, and especially doorbell cameras."
They're not unrelated, you explained the relationship yourself (that they're both "dangerous" examples of pervasive corporate surveillance), and the article quite explicitly argues that we SHOULDN'T "just accept" these "devices that constantly monitor, track and record us simply for our own convenience or a sense of safety".
How am I contradicting myself? I'm saying that devices like Alexa that monitor our conversations, or constant tracking via smartphones, are way more invasive than a video doorbell. Equating the two, which seems to be very common recently, is irresponsible in my opinion. There is nothing contradictory in thinking that its dangerous to utilize devices which will monitor your private life practically 24x7, vs a video doorbell which solely views a public area, and doesn't invade anyone's privacy, nor collects sensitive data.
> They aren't capturing anything that isn't readily available.
In 1984, Big Brother monitors both public and private spaces, but in V for Vendetta I believe the roving vans and stuff only monitor public spaces. Am I interpreting you correctly that scenario like V for Vendetta but with CCTV, where the government monitors everyone's public movements and interactions at all times, you would fail to see anything wrong with?
I'm saying I'm skeptical of doorbell cameras leading to a V for Vendetta like fascist state, the same way I'm skeptical of machine learning applications leading to Skynet. I'm saying that the "techno-literate" crowd likes to see themselves as informed and skeptical, and yet they show a willingness to wholeheartedly believe in the dystopic futures of science-fiction and comic books the same way cultists see signs of the apocalypse in news reports.
There are reasons to worry about incursions into our privacy by corporations and the government. I'm not convinced Ring doorbells qualify.
> Doorbell cameras aren't compelling targets for hackers
They will be when people discover creative new ways to abuse them, but it doesn't even needs to be a "compelling target". Some people simply think browsing cameras on the internet is fun.
Exactly. If I can watch your doorstep and the doorstep across the street from you, I know when you received a large package. I also know when nobody is home. I know when latch-key kids are home alone. I know when a single woman is home alone. I could be any sort of deviant.
The block watch captains already do this and are way nosier. Sure maybe only 12 hours per day rather than 24, but busy bodies are nothing new and even worse if you ask me.
I've lived in a few different places in the US, including the Bay Area, and never met a block watch captain. Do they actually walk around that frequently?
No. Anything they can see from the street, they can watch. The gray area AFAIK is what a drone can see from the street, but at higher elevations. That said, you and all your neighbors can file a complaint.
Since the poor security practices have led to people getting spied upon and harassed, those poor security practices are clearly related to dystopic surveillance concerns.
The article also directly addresses larger issues than poor security practices. Two examples:
"And Amazon's surveillance doorbell cameras are just the start: The company is selling a multitude of other gadgets equipped with microphones, cameras and sensors, all designed to gather enormous amounts of data, which Amazon refines -- like crude oil -- into power and profit. Alexa, the company's "home assistant," is constantly listening and explosive investigations revealed that Amazon employees have also listened, via Alexa, not just to private conversations, but also to deeply intimate moments such as couples having sex or kids singing in the shower. Amazon even marketed its microphone-enabled Echo Dot Kids directly to children."
"Amazon devices aren't just giving hackers and Amazon employees an eye or an ear into our homes. The company has also partnered with more than 600 police departments across the country to tap into the surveillance network its customers are creating for them, developing a seamless process for government agents to request footage from tens of thousands of Ring cameras without warrants or any judicial oversight."