Date: February 11, 2019
Contact: mediacenter@freeandfairmarketsinitiative.org
NEW SURVEY FINDS CONSUMERS ARE ALARMED BY AMAZON-OWNED RING VIDEO SPYING REPORTS
Consumers Overwhelmingly Believe Amazon Has A Responsibility To Protect Consumer Privacy & Data On Its Ring Products
The Free & Fair Markets Initiative (FFMI) released a new survey today that found 82 percent of respondents are concerned by a recent report that Amazon’s smart-doorbell company Ring let employees spy on homeowners. FFMI fielded a nationwide poll online of 2,064 consumers between February 8-10, 2019 utilizing SurveyMonkey to gauge attitudes towards home security products and privacy. The survey had a margin of error of +/- 2.20 percent and was balanced against U.S. census data.
Respondents were equally alarmed to know that the Amazon-owned Ring had granted a foreign-based company access to every video created by every Ring security camera around the world with 86 percent concerned with this news report and 81 percent unlikely to purchase a Ring security product after learning about this development.
Additionally, the survey also found that 89 percent of respondents believe Amazon has a responsibility to protect a consumer’s privacy and data on Ring security products and 83 percent support regulators and policymakers from implementing safeguards to ensure Amazon and Ring cannot access a consumer’s data without their permission.
“Shame on Amazon for this shocking privacy breach that let complete strangers peak into the homes of people who thought they were getting a security system,” said Robert B. Engel, chief spokesperson for FFMI. “It’s a terrible betrayal of trust. Ring customers and all consumers have every reason to be outraged by Amazon’s failure to implement appropriate privacy protections. It also raises questions around the privacy and security of other Amazon home products.”
Summary of key findings include:
- 82 percent of those surveyed found it concerning (62 percent very concerning) that Amazon-owned Ring employees had unrestricted access live camera feeds into someone’s home without their permission.
- 86 percent of those surveyed found it concerning (66 percent very concerning) that Amazon-owned Ring provided a foreign-based company access to a storage file of every Ring video created from around the world.
- 81 percent of those surveyed found it concerning (61 percent very concerning) that a foreign-based company was given access to videos to improve facial and object recognition on Amazon-owned Ring.
- 81 percent of those surveyed found it concerning (59 percent very concerning) that Amazon-owned Ring accumulates data from consumers without their permission to make changes to their services.
- 83 percent of those surveyed support (67 percent strongly support) regulators and policymakers implementing safeguards to ensure companies like Amazon’s Ring cannot access consumer data without their permission.
- 89 percent of those surveyed believe (77 percent strongly believe) that Amazon has a responsibility to protect consumer privacy and consumer data with its Ring security products.
- 81percent of those surveyed are less likely (61 percent much less likely) to buy an Amazon-owned Ring security product knowing that they allowed a foreign-based company to access video feeds without a homeowner’s permission.
To download a summary of the poll, click here.
Watch: Can We Trust Amazon-Owned Ring In Our Homes?
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ABOUT THE FREE & FAIR MARKETS INITIATIVE
The Free & Fair Markets Initiative (FFMI) is a non-profit coalition of businesses, consumer advocacy groups, workers and community activists committed to scrutinizing and highlighting emerging market trends that are stifling competition and innovation, influencing federal and local government spending, putting consumer data in harm’s way and limiting consumer choice. For a list of members, please visit https://freeandfairmarketsinitiative.org/about-us/members/. For more information on the Free & Fair Markets Initiative, please visit https://freeandfairmarketsinitiative.org.