Should Amazon’s new show be called ‘Surveillance Nation?’

Based on footage from the company’s Ring cameras, “Ring Nation” is a reality show from Amazon and run by the same company that produces “Live PD.”

By Shelly BrisbinAugust 18, 2022 2:56 pm, ,

Amazon’s latest TV offering is not a comedy or a thriller, but a reality show called “Ring Nation.” It’s already raising some eyebrows among critics of the retail and tech giant.

The new show debuts next month. It will feature video footage from Amazon’s Ring security systems. Tech expert Omar Gallaga says the new show is a reminder of the amount of surveillance made possible by Ring cameras.

Highlights from this segment:

– “Ring Nation” is hosted by comedian Wanda Sykes. Video footage from Ring systems that has been online, and that viewers share with producers, will form the show’s content.

– Amazon has faced criticism in the past for turning Ring footage over to police, and for a temporarily paused facial recognition tool that the company had rolled out for owners of Ring cameras.

– “Ring Nation” is being produced by Big Fish Entertainment, the company that created the controversial show “Live PD,” which followed law enforcement as suspects were apprehended. (“Live PD,” which was canceled amid the summer 2020 protests against police brutality and its involvement in the case of a Texas man who died in police custody, has been revived with a new name and network.)

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