Along with dominating headlines over the past few years, technology and internet safety were highlighted by domestic and family violence advocacy organizations and service providers throughout this year’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month, observed annually each October.
Technology continues to eek into our daily lives on a more personal level with each innovation. Beyond the constant connection by text, voice, and video available at pocket’s reach, the pervasion of internet-connected devices that include everything from “wearable tech” (Bluetooth devices, fitness trackers, and even some medical technology) to devices installed in personal properties or vehicles (surveillance devices, doorbell cameras, “smart” electronics and appliances, and devices for “voice assistants” such as Alexa and Siri) introduces a new risk to personal privacy.
Image by Darwin Laganzon from Pixabay.
Experts and consumers often raise concerns about possible invasions of personal privacy by devices that rely on internet connection, location sharing, personal account information, or capturing live videos or images. For example, Ring cameras have found themselves at the center of a lawsuit brought by the FTC when an Amazon employee used Ring technology to spy on female customers; another FTC lawsuit that alleged Amazon retained children’s conversations with Alexa; and a handful of lawsuits after a hack exposed several Ring customers to anonymous harassment, threats, and racial slurs.
While many consumers are growing concerned about potential privacy invasions from the companies producing these devices, there are extra risks for survivors of domestic violence. Personal devices that connect to the internet or are “findable” via Bluetooth, whether carried on someone’s person or installed in a home, vehicle, or other personal property, can be used to track, surveil, stalk, harass, or otherwise continue or magnify domestic abuse. Abuse using technology can exist as part of or separately from emotional, physical, or sexual abuse. Long before AirTags and Ring cameras hit the market, advocates raised concerns about the heightened role of technology in domestic violence. In 2022, two women sued Apple when their abusers used Apple AirTags to track their whereabouts. In response, Apple updated the AirTag product in face of concerns from advocates for domestic violence survivors, and then joined forces with other technology giants in the hopes of creating a plan to combat stalking and tracking using Bluetooth devices.
Doorbell cameras and other personal surveillance and tracking devices are often framed as useful tools for survivors of violence and for those investigating crimes. The Ring camera, originally launched by a crowdfunding campaign and then made pervasive by partnerships with law enforcement agencies and then acquisition by Amazon, was advertised as a personal crime-deterring device from its conception. Many domestic violence advocacy organizations participate in donation programs that provide doorbell cameras to survivors. If a survivor is unsure of who is knocking on their door, they can check a doorbell camera without approaching or opening it. Footage from doorbell cameras and other surveillance devices can be submitted as evidence for ongoing investigations. However, the privacy vulnerabilities of internet-connected devices also affect surveillance devices; while they may be used to protect a survivor, they may also be compromised or exploited by an abuser.
Civil rights advocacy organizations argue that doorbell cameras and other surveillance devices may lead to an increase in racial profiling, excessive surveillance by police, and a perpetuation of harmful stereotypes that lead to under-responsiveness to domestic violence survivors in marginalized communities; and, as these organizations note, the impact of home surveillance devices on combatting crime and violence is hard to measure. Ring maintains partnerships with hundreds of law enforcement agencies across the country. Ambiguous user agreements and privacy policies resulted in police investigations during which law enforcement were able to obtain a warrant for Ring footage of not just the outside, but the inside of a customer’s home; and in some cases, Amazon provided Ring footage to police without the users’ permission. Concerns about private data sharing between law enforcement and multibillion-dollar companies are continually raised by nonprofit organizations and lawmakers. A federal data privacy act (the “American Data Privacy and Protection Act”) was introduced in the House of Representatives in 2022, and further legislation centered on consumer data privacy was introduced to Congress in 2023.
Some also criticize how tech giants producing personal surveillance devices weaponize images and reports of domestic and other violence to encourage more sales. News stories, viral social media posts, and marketing campaigns from the companies themselves, some experts argue, create a false or misleading narrative that encourages consumers to purchase surveillance devices without considering privacy risks. The images used in campaigns or social media posts are often captured and published without the victim’s or photographed person’s consent, increasing the risk of magnified trauma for survivors and/or misleading information for the community.
Image via the Safety Net Project.
Staying Tech Safe
Many organizations that advocate for and serve survivors of domestic and family violence now incorporate information about technology, device, and internet safety in their educational resources. The Houston Area Women’s Center highlights current electronic and technology considerations to make while creating a safety plan. The Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council (HCDVCC) recently shared the Technology Safety & Privacy: A Toolkit for Survivors, published by the Safety Net Project, a nonprofit advocacy organization that focuses on the intersection of technology and abuse, and a project of the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV). The Safety Net Project also developed resources such as the Digital Services Toolkit, the Agency’s Use of Technology Best Practices & Policies Toolkit, and the Legal Systems Toolkit.
As previously highlighted in an Ex Libris Juris blog post, the NNEDV launched a national program with Ring. This program follows a donation program between Ring and the HCDVCC, first launched in April 2021 after the HCDVCC found success incorporating Ring devices into survivor safety planning. The program grew into a statewide program in collaboration with organizations across Texas. The HCDVCC program, now called the Supplemental Safety Planning Tools Project (or SSPT Camera Project), reports that SSPT Partners across Harris County and surrounding counties have provided over 900 cameras to survivors and their families since 2021.
Image via the HCDVCC.
The SSPT Camera Project is praised for addressing barriers and challenges that other Ring donation programs have not: SSPT participants are not required to receive an injunction or file a police report, reducing interactions with law enforcement and lengthy court procedures; and cameras are only offered as part of a comprehensive safety plan tailored to a survivor’s personal circumstances with the help of their counselor, to inform the participant about important safety and privacy information and to be sure the device will benefit the survivor’s situation.
When advocating for survivors of domestic violence, it is important to educate yourself and your community, share resources, and support local organizations:
The Importance Of Domestic Violence Awareness Month - HCDVCC
Stand with us: Domestic Violence Awareness Month - Houston Area Women’s Center
Domestic Violence Awareness - Texas Council on Family Violence
Resources for survivors available in Harris County are highlighted in this Ex Libris Juris blog post. The Domestic and Family Violence Resource Guide from the Harris County Robert W. Hainsworth Law Library lists further resources available in Harris County and Texas in a downloadable PDF.