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John,
As millions across the country gear up for a night of trick-or-treating, the real monsters this Halloween are the Amazon Ring cameras on doorsteps.
Just this month, Ring announced1 a partnership with the notorious surveillance tech company FLOCK, which was recently exposed for sharing license plate reader data with Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE). Law enforcement, regardless of jurisdiction, appear to have unrestricted access to search FLOCK databases, including for the purpose of immigration2 and abortion3 investigations. This means that footage of your neighbors coming to your door for trick or treating may be used without your permission to identify and deport your neighbors.
This is why we have issued the following advisory:
To preserve human rights and community safety, all people in the United States are advised to turn off and cover their Amazon Ring cameras this Halloween to avoid complicity with ICE operations and the deportation of immigrant families who are trick-or-treating.
We need your help ahead of Halloween so neighbors can be prepared to protect the privacy and safety of all of the children, families, and adults in our community. Here’s how you can take action:
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Forward this email and share the advisory widely. We have posts up on Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky, and Mastodon for amplification.
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If you have a Ring, at the very least, turn off any Ring cameras ahead of Halloween, but ideally dump Ring surveillance cameras for good.
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We know dumping Ring can feel like a big and difficult ask. If you’re not ready to part ways with your camera just yet, please take a few extra minutes to activate the camera’s end-to-end encryption feature (you can find a how-to here).
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Have a conversation with your neighbors individually, within your HOA, and in neighborhood community meeting spaces about this community safety issue.
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Fight for the Future has put together a printable door hanger to spread awareness about this dangerous Ring partnership and gently encourage your neighbors who have cameras to take precautions to keep their footage out of ICE’s reach. You can find that, and more information, here.
Thank you for sharing and doing your part to keep us all safe ❤️
With love, Reem at Fight for the Future
PS: If you can, donate here to support our rapid-response efforts like this one!
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