Report Reveals Controversy Surrounding Video Doorbells — and Why Delivery Drivers Don't Like Them

Homeowners exhibiting "boss behaviors" are complicating the issue of surveillance.

learn more about Amanda Breen

By Amanda Breen

Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images

As video doorbells, like the Amazon-owned Ring brand, increase in popularity, so do some of the surveillance issues that surround them.

According to a report from research firm Data & Society, delivery drivers from FedEx to UberEats and even Amazon itself have frequently been subjected to a range of actions the authors describe as "boss behavior" — like barking orders at drivers, and, in some cases, uploading the recordings to social media.

Related: Amazon Is Huge Because It Started With a Great MVP

According to The Guardian, Amazon's Ring system is poised to become the largest corporate-owned, civilian-installed surveillance network in the U.S., with 400,000 Ring devices sold in December 2019 alone — even before the pandemic pumped up online retail sales.

One Ring-related case last year involved an Amazon delivery driver who was recorded during what appeared to be a mental breakdown — yelling "Shit" repeatedly before driving away. The homeowner put the video on TikTok, where it received more than 1.3 million views and over 8,000 comments.

"Why should you put someone on social media?" a driver told Data & Society. "Why don't you just report directly to Amazon, and maybe they can deal with it?...That's like an invasion of privacy, too, and it doesn't end up well. You can imagine how the family of that driver feels when they see that footage."

Other viral Ring videos feature drivers throwing or kicking packages, or leaving them extremely far from the door.

Related: Amazon Delivery Driver Gets Paid for 'Doing Nothing'

The majority of drivers believed that using doorbell camera footage for public shaming was unacceptable, but some also saw the devices as benefiting themselves — preventing them from being falsely accused of package theft in some cases.

But the authors of the report stress that doorbell-camera-enabled "boss behaviors" continue to complicate worker management, giving Amazon and other companies more control over delivery drivers who they claim are independent contractors.

Amanda Breen

Entrepreneur Staff

Features Writer

Amanda Breen is a features writer at Entrepreneur.com. She is a graduate of Barnard College and recently completed the MFA in writing at Columbia University, where she was a news fellow for the School of the Arts during the 2020-2021 academic year. 

Related Topics

Editor's Pick

Everyone Wants to Get Close to Their Favorite Artist. Here's the Technology Making It a Reality — But Better.
The Highest-Paid, Highest-Profile People in Every Field Know This Communication Strategy
After Early Rejection From Publishers, This Author Self-Published Her Book and Sold More Than 500,000 Copies. Here's How She Did It.
Having Trouble Speaking Up in Meetings? Try This Strategy.
He Names Brands for Amazon, Meta and Forever 21, and Says This Is the Big Blank Space in the Naming Game
Money & Finance

Revenue vs. Profit: What's the Difference?

The difference between revenue and profit is vital to understand in order to run a healthy business. Read on to learn all about these basic economic concepts.

Money & Finance

What Is Market Cap? Here's a Comprehensive Explanation.

Read on to learn how to calculate market cap, explore the different categories and understand how it influences investment analysis.

Career

Thinking of a Career Change? Here Are 4 Steps You Can Take To Get There.

Author Joanne Lipman on what experience and science tell us about successful job pivots.

Business News

A Mississippi News Anchor Is Under Fire for Quoting Snoop Dogg

WLBT's Barbara Bassett used the rapper's "fo shizzle" phrase during a live broadcast, causing the station to let her go.

Business Ideas

55 Small Business Ideas To Start Right Now

To start one of these home-based businesses, you don't need a lot of funding -- just energy, passion and the drive to succeed.