---
title: "Amazon Employees Were Watching Ring Footage For Fun"
description: "In a letter to Senators, Ring confirmed at least four instances of employees abusing their power to watch customers' video footage."
date: "2020-01-09"
modified: "2020-01-09"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/amazon-employees-watching-ring-footage"
categories:
  - "Future Society"
tags:
  - "Amazon"
  - "privacy"
  - "ring"
  - "the digest"
---

# Amazon Employees Were Watching Ring Footage For Fun

![In a letter to Senators, Ring confirmed at least four instances of employees abusing their power to watch customers' video footage.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/amazon-employees-watching-ring-footage.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Amazon/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Sneaking Peeks

On at least four separate occasions, Ring employees have abused their power by watching video footage from unknowing customers' cameras.

The Amazon-owned security camera and doorbell company [recently made news](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/ring-lawsuit-amazon-camera-hackers-harassed-kids>) after a slew of creeps hacked into users' cameras and spied on them, revealing the company's [flimsy cybersecurity](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/researchers-security-hole-amazon-ring-smart-doorbell>). As if that wasn't bad enough, *[Motherboard ](<https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/y3mdvk/ring-fired-employees-abusing-video-data>)*[now ](<https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/y3mdvk/ring-fired-employees-abusing-video-data>)[reports](<https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/y3mdvk/ring-fired-employees-abusing-video-data>) that employees are tuning in as well — troubling news for a company claiming to make people safer.

## Fessing Up

Ring confirmed at least four instances of employees being fired after accessing video footage beyond the scope of their work for the company in a [November 29 letter](<https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6603161-Ring-Response-Letter.html>) obtained by *Motherboard*. The letter was a response to senators who were probing its privacy and cybersecurity protocols.

However, a Ring spokesperson declined to answer *Motherboard's* specific questions about the incidents, saying only "We do not comment on personnel matters."

## Troubling Timeline

Because the letter was sent in late November, it precedes the recent [high-profile wave](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/watch-creeps-hack-ring-cameras-spy-families>) of Ring hacks — and the cybersecurity flaws that have since [come to light](<https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/epg4xm/amazon-ring-camera-security>).

In response to those issues, Senator Ron Wyden — one of the letter's recipients — told *Motherboard* that it's "disturbing to learn that Ring’s encryption of user videos lags behind other companies, who ensure that only users have the encryption keys to access their data."

**READ MORE:** [Ring Fired Employees for Watching Customer Videos](<https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/y3mdvk/ring-fired-employees-abusing-video-data>) \[*Motherboard*\]

**More on Amazon:** *[Watch Terrifying Creeps Hack Ring Cameras and Spy on Families](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/watch-creeps-hack-ring-cameras-spy-families>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)