Ring cancels its partnership with Flock Safety after surveillance backlash

The internet came with pitchforks and punchlines after Amazon‑owned Ring said it’s canceling its planned tie‑up with Flock Safety, a law‑enforcement tech firm tied to surveillance. Ring’s blog says the integration “never launched” and required “more time and resources,” and insists no customer videos were shared. But the crowd? They’re not buying the bow on this rollback. One camp is shouting, “Not enough!” blasting “dragnet surveillance” and calling for cloud‑connected doorbells to go the way of the dial‑up. Another is side‑eyeing the timing after that questionable Super Bowl ad, with one quip asking which ads haven’t blown up this year.

For non‑tech folks: Flock runs camera networks used by police; reports say federal agencies like ICE (the U.S. immigration enforcement agency) accessed its network via Flock. That connection lit the fuse. Some Ring users even bragged about smashing or trashing their doorbells. The debate is spicy: privacy hawks cheer a win, cynics call it PR damage control and vow not to forget how “eagerly” Ring would sell gear to anyone with a budget. Meanwhile, the memes are relentless: a “Spider‑Man pointing at Spider‑Man” gag about surveillance blaming surveillance, and a darkly funny bit that if a camera spots a lost dog, everyone’s phones start blaring “Angel” by Sarah McLachlan. Bottom line: Ring hit pause, but the trust deficit is still ringing loud — and the comments are even louder. Read Ring’s statement here.