Law Enforcement Information Requests
Law Enforcement Information Requests
About Ring

Law Enforcement Information Requests

By Ring on March 27, 2020

For the latest reports, please visit our Law Enforcement Information Requests page.

At Ring, we are committed to being transparent about our privacy and security practices.

Ring receives and responds to legally binding law enforcement requests for user information on a regular basis, just like many other companies. These requests come from various law enforcement agencies in the United States, and around the world. These agencies are required to follow applicable laws and statutes when requesting user information. If they do, and we are legally required to comply, we will provide information responsive to the request. Ring’s Law Enforcement Guidelines describe our process for receiving and processing information requests from law enforcement.

The following provides insight into the type and number of requests processed in 2019 and how Ring responded to them:

Types of Information Requests Received by Ring

Subpoenas

Subpoenas are valid and binding legal demands for information or testimony issued by courts, lawyers, law enforcement agencies, or grand juries, usually without any substantive review by a judge or magistrate. We produce non-content information only in response to valid and binding subpoenas. We do not produce content information in response to subpoenas. Ring objects to overbroad or otherwise inappropriate subpoenas as a matter of course.

Search warrants

Search warrants may be issued by local, state, or federal courts upon a showing of probable cause and must specifically identify the place to be searched and the items to be seized. Ring may produce non-content and content information in response to valid and binding search warrants. Ring objects to overbroad or otherwise inappropriate search warrants as a matter of course.

Other court orders

Other court orders refers to valid and binding orders issued by local, state, or federal courts, other than search warrants or court-issued subpoenas. For example, we may receive a court order, obtained by a government entity, seeking to remove user content or accounts. Our responses to other court orders depend on the nature of the request.  Ring objects to overbroad or otherwise inappropriate orders as a matter of course.

National security requests

National security requests include National Security Letters (“NSLs”) and court orders issued under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (“FISA”). Our responses to these requests depend on the nature of the request. Ring objects to overbroad or otherwise inappropriate national security requests as a matter of course.

Non-U.S. requests

Non-U.S. requests include legal demands from non-U.S. governments, including legal orders issued pursuant to the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty process, the letters rogatory process, or the CLOUD Act. Our responses to these requests depend on the nature of the request. Ring objects to overbroad or otherwise inappropriate non-U.S. requests as a matter of course.

Content vs. Non-Content Information

Non-content

Non-content information means subscriber information such as name, address, email address, billing information, date of account creation, and certain purchase history and service usage information.

Content

Content information means the content of data files stored in a customer’s account such as video recordings.

How Ring Responds to Requests

Full response

Full response means that Ring responded to a valid legal process by providing all of the information requested.

Partial response

Partial response means that Ring responded to a valid legal process by providing only some of the information requested.

No response

No response means that Ring responded to a valid legal process by providing none of the information requested.

Law Enforcement Information Requests Processed in 2019:

Response Subpoenas Court Orders Search Warrants Non-U.S. Requests National Security Requests*
Full Response 48 4 287 0 -
Partial Response 22 1 136 0 -
No Response 92 4 113 30 -
Total 162 9 536 30 0-249

*Ring is prohibited by law from reporting the exact number of NSLs and FISA orders it receives. Therefore we report the number of such requests only within certain ranges set by the government.

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