Amazon Policeware: Getting Visible in Spite of Amazon

October 9, 2019

An enterprising reporter included some information from my Amazon research. You can find these open source factoids in “Meet America’s Newest Military Giant: Amazon.” Like good recipients of Jeffrey Epstein love, the publication will enjoin you to pay to read the recycled version of my research. Hey, that’s capitalism in action.

The write up does veer from “military giant” into policeware, a term I coined to make clear that there are platforms, applications, and tools purpose-built to support law enforcement, analysts, and investigators.

You may want to read the article and take a look at the information I have published in this blog and on YouTube and Vimeo. The search systems struggle to highlight this content, but that’s the way life is in the world of ad-supported search. (Tip: To locate the information, use the search box on this Web site or you can explore these short videos at these links:

October 30, 2018 https://vimeo.com/297839909

November 6, 2018 https://vimeo.com/298831585

November 13, 2018 https://vimeo.com/300178710

November 20, 2018 https://vimeo.com/301440474.)

Another peek at Amazon’s activities is provided in a side mirror attached to a speeding Chevrolet Volt. “Ring’s Police Partnerships Must End, Say More Than 30 Civil Rights Groups” is an “open letter.” That document, according to CNet, “urges local lawmakers to cancel all existing police deals with Amazon’s video doorbell company.”

Good luck with that.

The CNet write up adds:

Ring has more than 500 police partnerships across the US, and a coalition of civil rights groups are calling for local governments to cancel them all. On Tuesday, tech-focused nonprofit Fight For the Future published an open letter to elected officials raising concerns about Ring’s police partnerships and its impacts on privacy and surveillance. The letter is signed by more than 30 civil rights groups, including the Center for Human Rights and Privacy, Color of Change and the Constitutional Alliance. Along with asking mayors and city councils to cancel existing Ring partnerships, the letter also asks for surveillance oversight ordinances to prevent police departments from making these deals in the future, and also requested members of Congress to investigate Ring’s practices.

I have been giving Amazon policeware factoids into my lectures for three years. Last year, one LE and intel conference organizer told me that Amazon was not a subject of interest to his conference attendees or to him. The hot subject was quantum computing. Okay, but now Technology Review and the folks at CNet are starting to make noise about Amazon policeware.

Maybe there is something there? Do you think?

If you want to know:

The Amazon strategy for policeware and intelware
The core functionality which will alter how certain data are aggregated and analyzed
The specific high value function that Amazon is positioned to offer
The role of partners and integrators in the Amazon initiative

just write benkent2020 at yahoo dot com. We offer a for fee webinar on the subject.

Don’t think this Amazon play is important? No problem. Just think about the video doorbell play and ponder when your mobile phone will implement quantum methods.

Amazon is today, and few know what’s afoot. For some companies, it may be too late. Many people know how to use the Amazon interfaces. Learning curve. Close to zero.

Stephen E Arnold, October 9, 2019

Written by Stephen E. Arnold · Filed Under Amazon, Feature, Policeware

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Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining and related topics from his high-tech nerve center in rural Kentucky. He tries to winnow the goose feathers from the giblets. He works with colleagues worldwide to make this Web log useful to those who want to go "beyond search". Contact him at sa [at] arnoldit.com. His Web site with additional information about search is arnoldit.com.