Chapter 16 Quiz
Instructions: Select the best answer for multiple-choice questions. For short-answer questions, write 2–4 sentences unless otherwise specified.
Multiple Choice
1. Ring was acquired by which company in 2018?
a) Google b) Meta c) Amazon d) Microsoft
Answer: c) Amazon
2. The "fusion center at your door" metaphor refers to:
a) Ring's customer service operations center b) The concentration of private surveillance data, social platform content, and law enforcement access in Ring's ecosystem c) The physical security system installed in fusion centers d) A proposed government regulation of Ring cameras
Answer: b) The concentration of private surveillance data, social platform content, and law enforcement access in Ring's ecosystem
3. Which of the following best describes the "normalization ratchet" as used in this chapter?
a) A mechanical device used to tighten surveillance equipment b) The process by which government mandates force private companies to adopt surveillance practices c) The feedback loop by which surveillance normalization reduces privacy expectations, enabling further surveillance d) The gradual increase in Ring camera prices over time
Answer: c) The feedback loop by which surveillance normalization reduces privacy expectations, enabling further surveillance
4. Researchers studying Nextdoor found that Black residents were mentioned in suspicious person reports at a rate approximately how many times higher than their neighborhood population share would predict?
a) Twice as high b) Three times as high c) Five times as high d) Seven times as high
Answer: d) Seven times as high
5. The third-party doctrine, established in Smith v. Maryland (1979), holds that:
a) Third-party witnesses cannot be compelled to testify in surveillance cases b) Information voluntarily shared with a third party loses Fourth Amendment protection c) Government agencies must obtain third-party verification before surveillance is legal d) Surveillance companies are liable as third parties for footage misuse
Answer: b) Information voluntarily shared with a third party loses Fourth Amendment protection
6. Which 2018 Supreme Court case complicated the third-party doctrine by ruling that police need a warrant for historical cell phone location data?
a) Katz v. United States b) Riley v. California c) Carpenter v. United States d) United States v. Jones
Answer: c) Carpenter v. United States
7. A geofence warrant requires a technology company to:
a) Install geofencing software to prevent users from accessing certain locations b) Provide data about all devices present within a specified geographic area during a specified time window c) Notify users when their location data is being shared with police d) Fence off the geographic area around a crime scene for digital forensic purposes
Answer: b) Provide data about all devices present within a specified geographic area during a specified time window
8. According to the chapter, Ring's marketing strategy primarily relied on:
a) Convenience and smart home integration b) Environmental sustainability compared to traditional security systems c) Fear and crime narratives d) Endorsements from law enforcement agencies
Answer: c) Fear and crime narratives
9. The "reasonable expectation of privacy" test was established in which case?
a) Smith v. Maryland b) Katz v. United States c) Terry v. Ohio d) Carpenter v. United States
Answer: b) Katz v. United States
10. Broken-windows theory was developed by:
a) Michel Foucault and Jeremy Bentham b) James Q. Wilson and George Kelling c) Gary Wolf and Kevin Kelly d) Joy Buolamwini and Timnit Gebru
Answer: b) James Q. Wilson and George Kelling
11. When Ring homeowners "voluntarily" share footage with police through the partnership portal, whose privacy is most directly compromised?
a) The homeowner's, because they are sharing their own surveillance data b) Ring's corporate privacy, because footage is proprietary c) Third parties who appear in the footage without having consented to sharing d) Police officers who view the footage
Answer: c) Third parties who appear in the footage without having consented to sharing
12. In 2020, Ring introduced automated filtering on the Neighbors app to:
a) Remove all crime-related posts to reduce community anxiety b) Flag and block racially explicit language in posts c) Automatically share high-priority posts with police partners d) Verify that footage was authentic and had not been manipulated
Answer: b) Flag and block racially explicit language in posts
13. The term "digital redlining" refers to:
a) Drawing physical boundaries around areas where Ring cameras are not permitted b) The process by which algorithmic or platform systems reproduce and amplify racial and class-based inequalities c) Ring's practice of prioritizing law enforcement partnerships in high-crime areas d) The red lines drawn on maps in Ring's camera coverage analysis
Answer: b) The process by which algorithmic or platform systems reproduce and amplify racial and class-based inequalities
14. Which city passed a "surveillance oversight ordinance" requiring city council approval before new surveillance technology integrating with police could be deployed citywide?
a) New York City b) Seattle c) Oakland, California d) Chicago
Answer: c) Oakland, California
15. Ring fired four employees in January 2020 for:
a) Sharing footage with competitors b) Improperly accessing customer video footage c) Deleting footage requested by law enforcement d) Leaking information about the law enforcement partnership program
Answer: b) Improperly accessing customer video footage
True / False
16. Ring cameras in the United States are legally required to display a visible notice that recording is taking place.
Answer: False. No federal law requires notice signs for private cameras recording public spaces from private property, though some states and localities have specific requirements.
17. Under Ring's partnership program as originally designed, police could access Ring footage in emergency situations without a warrant and without homeowner consent.
Answer: True. Ring changed this policy in 2022, requiring a warrant for emergency data requests, but the original partnership allowed warrantless emergency access.
Short Answer
18. Explain the concept of "consent as fiction" as it applies to Ring doorbells. In your answer, identify who cannot meaningfully consent, why they cannot, and what genuine consent would require in this context.
Model answer: "Consent as fiction" in Ring's context refers to the impossibility of meaningful consent for individuals who appear in Ring camera footage but do not own Ring devices. People walking on public sidewalks, delivering packages, or visiting neighbors are captured by cameras they often cannot see, operated by homeowners they may not know, feeding footage into a corporate platform they have not agreed to use. Consent, to be meaningful, must be informed (people must know recording is happening), voluntary (they must have a genuine choice), and specific (they must understand what the footage will be used for). None of these conditions obtains for non-owners. Genuine consent would require visible camera notices, opt-out mechanisms for those who do not wish to be recorded, and limitations on footage use that non-owners had a voice in establishing — reforms that have not been implemented.