Let's talk about Ring, lost dogs, and the surveillance state

"Since it aired for a massive audience at the Super Bowl, Ring's Search Party commercial has become a lightning rod for controversy - it's easy to see how the same technology that can find lost dogs can be used to find people, and then used to invade our privacy in all kinds of uncomfortable ways, by cops and regular people alike."

"The backlash to Ring's Super Bowl ad was swift, intense, and effective: the data company PeakMetrics says conversation about the ad on social platforms like X actually peaked two days after the Super Bowl, and the vibes, as they measured them, were strikingly negative. I mean, you know it's bad when Matt Nelson, who runs the weratedogs account, is posting videos like this:"

"and the vibes, as they measured them, were strikingly negative. I mean, you know it's bad when Matt Nelson, who runs the weratedogs account, is posting videos like this: Sen. Ed Markey called the ad "dystopian" and said it was proof Amazon, which owns Ring, needed to cease all facial recognition technology on Ring doorbells. He said, "This definitely isn't about dogs - it's about mass surveillance.""

Ring aired a Super Bowl commercial for its 'Search Party' feature that uses doorbell camera footage to locate lost pets. The ad sparked widespread criticism because the same technology can locate people and enable privacy-invasive surveillance by law enforcement and private individuals. Ring has a history of cooperating with police and announced a partnership with Flock Safety, a company whose systems have been accessed by ICE. Social media conversation became sharply negative after the ad, and public figures condemned the spot as dystopian. Four days after the game, Ring canceled the planned Flock integration, stating the integration never launched.

Read at The Verge