Concerns about privacy have been raised after the revelation of emails from the chief of Amazon's home security subsidiary declaring war on criminals.
Jamie Siminoff, CEO of the Santa Monica-based video doorbell company Ring, shared the vow in a March 2016 email galvanizing staff at the then-startup, which Amazon acquired in April 2018 for $1billion.
In the email, Siminoff addressed 'the dirtbag criminals that steal our packages and rob our houses ... your time is numbered because Ring is now officially declaring war on you!' according to the Intercept.
One of Ring's key features is the Neighbors app, which allows users to quickly share video of suspicious activity at their home with neighbors and, in some case, police.
An American Civil Liberties Union attorney has claimed the feature introduces privacy concerns and 'blurs the line' between state and private surveillance - a claim that is strongly rejected by Ring and the law enforcement agencies the company has partnered with.
Ring CEO Jaime Siminoff (above) is defending the Amazon subsidiary's partnerships with local police departments after questions were raised about privacy
In Florida, the Polk County Sheriff's office used this Ring footage to ask for the public's assistance in identifying a car burglar who was active on Friday
'Users have full control of who views their Ring footage,' Siminoff wrote in a blog post on Thursday.
'Only the content that a user chooses to make publicly available on Neighbors (by posting it to the app) can be viewed via the Neighbors app or by local law enforcement,' he continued.
Ring has partnered with police departments in several states, including Florida, California, and Texas.
In areas with such partnerships,
