Doorbell camera footage raises questions on privacy for homeowners

FORT MYERS, Fla. —

For years, doorbell cameras have helped homeowners keep an eye on their property.

"I love it because I get notifications when people are coming up to my front door or leaving packages, and I actually had a package go missing. It turned out it was the delivery driver taking it," said Fort Myers resident Teresa Christie.

Cameras provide an extra eye for law enforcement to catch criminals.

"You can't twist it. If it's available, it can be very useful, in just about everything, " said cyber security expert Ray Leventhal.

However, not all security cameras are created equal.

"Every one of those companies has an agreement with their end users, and I don't know whether there are opt-in or opt-out options in those agreements to allow for law enforcement to have unfettered access. But there's always a privacy issue with things that are shot in and around your home," said Leventhal.

The recent Nest video of Nancy Guthrie's possible kidnapper raises questions about privacy.

Gulf Coast News asked attorney Danielle O'Halloran to explain what legal rights law enforcement and providers have when trying to access your videos. She says that while most people give permission to share their video, some do not.

"So if they {law enforcement} believe that the footage is there and will be destroyed if they don't immediately get that footage and they have some sort of belief, good faith, belief that that footage will be destroyed, there's a possibility that they could go in without a warrant and take the footage on a DVR or something like that," said O'Halloran.

Most door camera users said they don't mind sharing if it's necessary. However, they don't want their privacy to be violated.

"I'm all for them taking my data information if it's available. If they ask me for it, I wouldn't want somebody to knock on my door and say, 'I'm taking your camera' and disappear with it," said Christie.

That's why cybersecurity experts advise doorbell camera users to know what type of surveillance is around their home and who will have access to it.

"When fear is around in the public, we tend to give up rights very easily. But once those rights are gone, it's very difficult to get them back," said Leventhal.

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