The term "surveillance state" brings certain images to mind: cameras on every corner, cataloging passersby's every move. What one may not always consider is that some of those cameras may have been put up by private citizens for nonpublic use.
In 2018, Amazon bought Ring, a company that manufactures video doorbells, cameras, and other home security equipment. At its acquisition, just a few years after failing to get an offer on ABC's Shark Tank, the company was valued at upward of a billion dollars. Ring's doorbells give consumers live video of any visitor to their home; the company's founder touts that its products prevent neighborhood crime.
