How Amazon Ring uses domestic violence to market doorbell cameras

The US will lift its travel ban for vaccinated visitors from November

The Download Your daily dose of what's up in emerging technology Ring's expanding remit 09.21.21 Good morning! Today we share an investigation into how law enforcement agencies are experimenting with Ring cameras to tackle domestic violence—and some potential issues that the project raises. Also: the US is set to drop its travel ban for vaccinated visitors. Get your friends to sign up here to get The Download every day. How Amazon Ring uses domestic violence to market doorbell cameras   When Ring launched eight years ago with a crowdfunding campaign, the market for home surveillance cameras and video doorbells barely existed. Now Ring has it cornered: in 2020, the company sold an estimated 1.4 million devices globally—as much as the next four competitors combined.  As these doorbell cameras have become more widespread, law enforcement agencies have experimented with using them in more targeted ways, including to address one of the most intimate and complicated of crimes: domestic violence.  There is a logic to these programs. After all, who would be more concerned about a potentially dangerous visitor at their door than someone who had just left an abusive partner?  But some domestic violence experts are concerned that these initiatives inject a combination of potentially dangerous factors into the lives of those they are supposed to protect: law enforcement that doesn’t always listen to survivors; a technology company with a patchy record on privacy and transparency; and programs launched without much department oversight—or input from experts on domestic violence.  Despite all these concerns, the programs are expanding, according to a yearlong investigation conducted by Consumer Reports, Type Investigations, and MIT Technology Review. Read the full story. —Eileen Guo We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction in these weird times. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet 'em at me.)   + I didn't know I needed this video of a man yodeling while smoking a cigarette, but it turns out it has appreciably improved my day.    + Photos of night time visits by foxes and hedgehogs to an English garden.    + There's something slightly grim about these work-from-home pyjamas but I… love them anyway?   + It isn't exactly nice, but this video of lava falling into a swimming pool is hard to tear your eyes away from.     + I noticed Niall was ALL OVER the cow content last week, so here's a bit more for you.    + Many of Cairo's elevators are glorious, terrifying antiques. (NYT $)   + What makes a food crispy, as opposed to crunchy?   + Hungary has honored the (anonymous) inventor of bitcoin with a statue. I don't know why this has happened. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 The US will lift its travel ban for vaccinated visitors from November 🇺🇸 America—I’m on my way! (AP)   + Pfizer says its vaccine is safe and effective for 5-11 year olds. (Ars Technica)   + But America's kids will be even harder to vaccinate than its adults. (Quartz)   + The FDA is likely to finally authorize Pfizer boosters this week. (NYT $)    + Where are America's tests? (NYT $) 2 China may be about to face its own "Lehman Brothers moment" Real estate developer Evergrande is struggling to meet the interest payments on its $300bn+ debts. (BBC)   + The crisis may be contributing to bitcoin's plummeting price this week. (CNET)  3 Apple is working on iPhone tools to detect depression It'll need to navigate the obvious privacy and security implications. (WSJ $)   4 Bezos has pledged $1 billion to fund conservation efforts  The philanthropy will focus on the Congo Basin, the tropical Andes and the tropical Pacific Ocean. (WP $)   + But is Big Tech doing enough on climate change? (The Guardian)  5 How TikTokers inserted themselves into the hunt for Gabby Petito  It's unclear if they helped. (Vice)    6 Kids can't use China's version of TikTok for more than 40 minutes a day I know a few parents in the West who'd be jealous of this new rule. (BBC)   7 Why everyone's hiring, yet no one's getting hired There's a big mismatch between the jobs people want and the jobs on offer. (Vox)   + How to give yourself the edge in your job search. (Vox)   8 What made Peter Thiel… Peter Thiel? He's just one man, yet his strange, sad ideology dominates Silicon Valley. (New York Magazine)   9 The cost of flying in games 🎮 It makes for a lonelier experience. (Wired $)   10 Will we be able to upload information to our brains one day? 🧠 Maybe! But instant kung fu skills seem unlikely. (Gizmodo) Advancing the promise of technology. Make MIT Technology Review your go-to resource for thought-provoking insights, analysis, and news about the world of technology. Get unlimited access when you subscribe today. Quote of the day “I have been in ‘self-isolation’ for 61 years, since I was born.” —Ivan Khudi, a nomadic reindeer herder who roams the Yamal Peninsula in the Arctic, tells the New York Times why it took so long for covid to reach his community.  Top image credit: JOAN WONG Please send work-from-home pyjamas to hi@technologyreview.com. Follow me on Twitter at @charlottejee. Thanks for reading! —Charlotte Was this newsletter forwarded to you, and you'd like to see more? Sign up today Leading with Innovation. Join us virtually September 28-30. Register now   Follow us: MIT Technology Review One Main Street Cambridge, MA 02142

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