A Super Bowl ad for Ring security cameras boasting how the company can scan neighborhoods for missing dogs has prompted some customers to remove or even destroy their cameras.

Online, videos of people removing or destroying their Ring cameras have gone viral. One video posted by Seattle-based artist Maggie Butler shows her pulling off her porch-facing camera and flipping it the middle finger.

Butler explained that she originally bought the camera to protect against package thefts, but decided the pet-tracking system raised too many concerns about government access to data.

“They aren’t just tracking lost dogs, they’re tracking you and your neighbors,” Butler said in the video that has more than 3.2 million views.

  • 14th_cylon@lemmy.zip
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    16 hours ago

    the problem with these fucking things is that you can’t really opt out. even if you don’t buy your own, some neighbours will happily buy and install the big brother to watch you from their porch and there is very little you can do about it.

    same as you can’t really escape the google, even if you don’t use single one of their service, there is always the other part to any communication you are having…

    • JustEnoughDucks@feddit.nl
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      2 hours ago

      In Belgium, it is legally required to put a sign up if you have cameras, you can’t point them at a place including public properties IIRC, and you can force them via the local government to move the camera if they are pointing at your property (at least in theory).

      Lasers. Blue lasers are what you can do. https://www.reddit.com/r/Ring/comments/wqxkdq/what_is_this_person_doing_to_my_camera/ (hate to link to reddit but it is a good demo)

      • 14th_cylon@lemmy.zip
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        2 hours ago

        it is similar here in czechia, at least in theory, but the theory will always differ from real life.

        you first have to know there is a camera to identify the problem, then if you are in doubt… i don’t know, sue them to prove that camera does not capture your property?

        it would take few years, because the justice system here works on geological scales. and before you would get any reasonable result, billion other cameras would pop up meantime.

    • ragas@lemmy.ml
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      6 hours ago

      Where I live, you can sue if the camera films more than their own property.

    • ArmchairAce1944@discuss.online
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      16 hours ago

      Exactly. I never used Gemini or gave sensitive information/photos to major AI companies, but my family has, including photos of me.

      • Pupscent@lemmy.ca
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        15 hours ago

        I’ve never had a Facebook account. I’ve always hated when people posted pictures I was in and said who I was.

      • 14th_cylon@lemmy.zip
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        13 hours ago

        break it and be recorded on their camera breaking it. that will end well.

          • bthest@lemmy.world
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            2 minutes ago

            Are you kidding. Police LOVE investigating petty vandalism. Top priority. Clearance rates are very high.

            Half the prison population in US are people who drew swastikas on Teslas.

        • jambudz@lemmy.zip
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          13 hours ago

          You can’t put a mask on and cover your distinguishing features? Weak

      • rumba@lemmy.zip
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        16 hours ago

        At close range they’ll blind them, but the tech is getting better these days.

        What knocks out the camera is the auto exposure, they used to just take the whole sensors input, average it and set the brightness against that value. A lot of the newer surveillance cameras will just ignore the overall and compensate pixel per pixel.

        Project farm looked at a bunch

        https://youtu.be/j0GZKXWf3vg?t=749