This Week in Tech with Jeanne Destro
Jeanne Destro
Radio: Soft Hits 93.5 FM WAKR
Categories: News & Politics
Listen to the last episode:
All Akron residents can now apply to receive a free Amazon RING doorbell security camera, as part of the city's ongoing effort to increase neighborhood security. What started as a pilot program in three of the city's ten wards last year, has now expanded outside of just wards 3, 4, ad 5. City officials are using federal American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funds to buy the cameras, and have allotted 300 per ward. This is in addition to the 400 originally given out to residents in four particularly high crime areas last year. Now, in order to fight crime, the free cameras come with some strings attached. When residents apply to receive one, they have to agree to terms and conditions, that include being willing to help police who may need to access some of the video footage captured by the cameras. Keep in mind when you listen to our interview with Akron City Council President, Margo Sommerville, that she says providing video footage for police is "entirely voluntary", but that is not exactly what the terms and conditions that are posted on the Akron City Council website indicate. They include: Applicant will timely create a RING account and will use his/her/their best efforts to notify the City and/or provide it with access to footage for law enforcement review suspected or actual criminal activity that does, or could, rise to the level of a felony. Applicant shall not in any way obstruct or object to the City’s request to review RING footage so long as the Akron Police Department reasonably believes it is necessary to the investigation of an actual or potential felony crimes. These conditions have not changed since the program began last year. However, the way that police can interact with citizens via the Neighbors app, that is used in conjunction with the RING cameras, has changed. Police used to be able to contact citizens in a selected area directly through the Neighbors app, and ask for them to send links to video from their cameras. That is no longer possible, though, because Amazon has disabled that feature, and now insists that police come to them with a warrant, or proof of exigent circumstances, if they want to access video that citizens don't supply to them voluntarily. But, while police cannot reach out to people for video through the app; they can still ask them for it directly, without going through the app. Akron Police Captain, Michael Miller explains, "The changes prevent us from sending a geo-notification to area residents, but they can still provide video links if they want. For example, if we are searching/canvassing an area and believe a crime occurred in a particular location, the homeowner can still send the police department a video link of any footage they captured. The goal all along was to enhance public safety and position us to solve crimes." With all that in mind, listen now, to my recent conversation with Akron City Council President, Margo Sommerville:
Previous episodes
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307 - Akron Expands Free RING Doorbell Cam Program Fri, 03 May 2024
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306 - What New TikTok Law Could Mean for Social Media Marketers Fri, 26 Apr 2024
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305 - AI In Everything, Everywhere: Are You Ready For The Future? Fri, 12 Apr 2024
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304 - Stark State College Offering Free Data Recovery Service This Week Sat, 30 Mar 2024
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303 - How Spyware & Disinformation Threaten Democracy Fri, 22 Mar 2024
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302 - Better, Faster, Cheaper: Akron's Plan To Bridge The Digital Divide Sat, 16 Mar 2024
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301 - Countdown To Totality: Solar Eclipse Readiness & Safety Tips Fri, 08 Mar 2024
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300 - Artificial Intelligence In The Classroom: New Ohio "AI Toolkit" for K-12 Teachers Fri, 01 Mar 2024
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299 - What's In Your Portfolio? Another Wall Street Fad Fizzles Wed, 28 Feb 2024
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298 - University of Akron Esports Celebrates Recent Rocket League Milestone Sat, 24 Feb 2024
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297 - Wings Over America: NASA Testing New Space Plane In NE Ohio Sat, 17 Feb 2024
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296 - Amazon RING, Police, & Civil Liberties Fri, 02 Feb 2024
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295 - Hack This: America's Next Gen Cybercops Sat, 27 Jan 2024
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294 - Investing in Bitcoin Just Got A Whole Lot Easier Fri, 19 Jan 2024
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293 - CBS Tech Contributor Ian Sherr, on Kids, Social Media, and Mental Health Fri, 12 Jan 2024
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292 - Protecting Kids From The Harmful Effects of Social Media Fri, 12 Jan 2024
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291 - Update: Summit County's Multi-Million Dollar Fiber Ring Project Fri, 05 Jan 2024
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290 - Art, Music & AI: Human Vs. Machine Fri, 15 Dec 2023
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289 - Solving The Nation's Pilot Shortage: Walsh University Streamlines Aviation Program Fri, 08 Dec 2023
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288 - Uncle Sam Wants You! (To Help Fight Voice Cloning Scams) Fri, 01 Dec 2023
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287 - Cameras, and Drones, and Tractors, Oh My!: America's High Tech Farmers Sat, 18 Nov 2023
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286 - Drink Up! New Clean Water Technology Sun, 12 Nov 2023
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285 - High Tech High: New Opportunities For NE Ohio Students Fri, 03 Nov 2023
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284 - Ultra High Speed Municipal Broadband On The Way For Everyone In Summit County Fri, 03 Nov 2023
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282 - Big Money For Tech Development In Northeast Ohio Fri, 27 Oct 2023
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281 - Canton's Big Hydrogen Bus Bonanza Fri, 20 Oct 2023
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280 - Online Learning: Lessons From The Pandemic Fri, 13 Oct 2023
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279 - This Week in Tech with Jeanne Destro-9-28-23: Keeping Voting Machines Secure Fri, 29 Sep 2023
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278 - What's Old Is New Again: Recycling Lithium-Ion Batteries Fri, 22 Sep 2023
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277 - This Week in Tech with Jeanne Destro-9-15-23: Big Dreams, Big Win For U-A NASA Robotics Team Fri, 15 Sep 2023
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276 - Hacking The Hackers: FBI Drops The Hammer Fri, 08 Sep 2023
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275 - Artificial Intelligence: Bias In A Box? Fri, 25 Aug 2023
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274 - HADAR: NEXT GEN THERMAL IMAGING Sun, 20 Aug 2023
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273 - Dark Patterns: How The FTC Is Fighting Big Tech Consumer Fraud Fri, 11 Aug 2023
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272 - Emerging Cyber Threats: Beyond Ransomware Sat, 05 Aug 2023
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271 - State Helps Cities Fight Cybercrime Fri, 28 Jul 2023
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270 - Tech Ohio-7-21-23 Fri, 21 Jul 2023
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269 - A New Renewable: Sustainable Silicone Fri, 14 Jul 2023
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268 - Green Fields & Green Energy Fri, 30 Jun 2023
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267 - This Week in Tech with Jeanne Destro-6-23-23: Gene Editing To Fight Sickle Cell Disease Fri, 23 Jun 2023
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266 - Cool Buildings, Hot Planet Fri, 16 Jun 2023
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265 - This Week in Tech with Jeanne Destro-6-9-23: Disorder In The Court: Legal Controversy Over AI Fri, 09 Jun 2023
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264 - This Week in Tech With Jeanne Destro-6-2-23: Advanced New Cyber Threats: Who Can Protect Us? Thu, 01 Jun 2023
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263 - This Week in Tech with Jeanne Destro-5-26-23: More Eyes In The Sky Fri, 26 May 2023
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262 - This Week in Tech with Jeanne Destro-5-19-23: Boom! The Return of Supersonic Commercial Flight Fri, 19 May 2023
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261 - This Week in Tech with Jeanne Destro-5-12-23-Amazing New Medical Technology Fri, 12 May 2023
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260 - This Week in Tech with Jeanne Destro-5-5-23: Batteries and Bolt Fri, 05 May 2023
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259 - Global Fallout From Tech Bank Collapse Tue, 02 May 2023
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258 - This Week in Tech with Jeanne Destro-4-14-23: New Summer Robotics Program At KSU Tue, 02 May 2023
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257 - This Week in Tech with Jeanne Destro-4-28-23: Cold Case DNA Technology Tue, 02 May 2023