IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jcopol/v46y2023i1d10.1007_s10603-022-09534-3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Ring Video Doorbell and the Entry of Amazon into the Smart Home: Implications for Consumer-Initiated Surveillance

Author

Listed:
  • K. A. Kelly

    (University of Connecticut)

Abstract

In this paper, the implications of the rapidly growing smart home market for “consumer-initiated surveillance” are explored. The author employs the term “consumer-initiated surveillance” to denote the acquisition of new surveillance technologies, applications, and systems by individuals for use in private settings. Through an analysis of mass marketing campaigns for the Ring Video Doorbell from 2013 to 2021, the author raises critical questions about whether this technology can deliver on the promise that private citizens will be empowered when they purchase and install it in their homes. While there are signs that consumers do have the ability to use this technology in ways that increase agency, serious questions remain about the negative implications of incorporating increasing numbers of smart home devices under current conditions of surveillance capitalism. The implications of this analysis reinforce the importance of preserving and enhancing consumer agency through anti-trust actions and the development of regulations designed to disrupt exploitative practices.

Suggested Citation

  • K. A. Kelly, 2023. "The Ring Video Doorbell and the Entry of Amazon into the Smart Home: Implications for Consumer-Initiated Surveillance," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 95-104, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jcopol:v:46:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1007_s10603-022-09534-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s10603-022-09534-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10603-022-09534-3
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10603-022-09534-3?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jcopol:v:46:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1007_s10603-022-09534-3. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.