Amazon cancels Ring-Flock deal amid privacy backlash

[music] Amazon says it has scrapped plans to link its Ring doorbell cameras with the police tech company Flock Safety. The decision follows mounting criticism over privacy concerns and just days after Amazon aired a Ring ad during the Super Bowl that renewed scrutiny. The proposed partnership announced in October would have created a feature called community requests, allowing Ring users to opt in and share doorbell footage with law enforcement. The Super Bowl ad highlighted a separate consumer feature called Search Party, which allows Ring users to share video to help locate lost pets. Critics argued that pairing neighborhood doorbell cameras with police systems and potentially with facial recognition tools could allow authorities to track people. Amazon and Flock say the decision to end the agreement was mutual. Neither company tied the move directly to the backlash over the ad. [music]