Amazon and MGM launch Ring Nation TV show featuring viral videos captured by Ring's smart doorbells and cameras
Wanda Sykes will be the host of an America's Funniest Home Videos-style television program. It won't feature intentional videos shot with cameras or phones, though — nope, it'll include clips captured by Ring doorbells and smart home security cameras. The series is called Ring Nation, and it's produced by MGM Television and Big Fish Entertainment. If you're wondering what connects the three companies, it's because Amazon owns all three. E-commerce giant Amazon acquired MGM and Big Fish in 2018 as well as Ring's smart doorbell business for $1 billion.
Deadline reports that Ring Nation will feature viral videos such as neighbors saving neighbors, marriage proposals, military reunions, and animals doing silly things. In other words, unless the program will also contain new material that may go viral as shared by Ring owners, you'll most likely find videos like these on social networks if you frequent them.
"From the world-changing, to the hilarious and uplifting must-see viral moments from across the country every day, Ring Nation provides something for everyone watching at home," said Barry Poznick, president of alternative television and Orion TV at MGM.
Amazon's desire to make video recordings from its smart doorbells a source of amusing family TV may seem too Black Mirror-esque, especially when you consider Ring's ties to law enforcement. Senator Edward Markey recently revealed that Amazon had given Ring footage to law enforcement in the US eleven times without a court order or user consent.
According to a Ring spokesperson, the firm was merely acting in accordance with the law, which allows businesses "to give information to government authorities if they believe an emergency involving a risk of death or serious physical damage to any individual...demands disclosure without delay." "We cannot accept this surveillance as inevitable," said Markey, speaking about his revelation. He also used the disclosure as proof of why lawmakers should pass the Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act, which he proposed in order to prohibit law enforcement from using the technologies.
Source: www.engadget.com
