Law enforcement reacts to Ring's new restriction on requesting doorbell video
The short version: Ring will stop letting cops directly request doorbell footage, but as 6abc Philadelphia reports, the bigger dragnet — Flock's always-on plate cameras — faces no such limits.
Our Take
Credit to 6abc Philadelphia for covering Ring's decision to cut off the direct police-to-homeowner video request pipeline. It's a real policy shift, and it matters because Ring cameras sit on millions of porches with a person behind the doorbell who can say no. That consent layer, however thin, is the whole point — it's the difference between a homeowner choosing to share a clip and a company quietly building a surveillance request funnel for law enforcement.
But don't mistake this for privacy winning the week. Ring footage requires someone to ask, and someone to decide. Flock Safety's automated license plate readers don't ask anyone. They sit on poles and read every plate that passes, tagging your car as it drives to church, the pharmacy, a protest, or a divorce attorney's office — and that data flows into a shared network across thousands of agencies with no doorbell, no owner, and no button to press to opt out. If Ring's move proves anything, it's that public pressure can force a surveillance company to add friction. ALPR networks have had none.
The lesson for anyone paying attention to this fight: don't celebrate one company's retreat while the actual mass-surveillance backbone keeps expanding unchecked. Check our map to see what's already watching your street, and hit take action if you want to push back where it actually counts — at your local city council.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of 6abc Philadelphia, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.