Amazon is settling a lawsuit with the Federal Trade Commission over privacy concerns about the Ring doorbell
Amazon is paying $5.8 million to settle a recently announced privacy lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission. According to the federal complaint, Ring gave employees and outside contractors full access to customer video content. This unfettered access has been abused by some employees and contractors and has been used to invade the privacy of Ring’s customers and other employees.
The lawsuit highlights several cases where hacked cameras were used to sexually harass and spy on women, stalk female coworkers who used Ring products, racially abuse children, and more. The FTC alleges that Amazon failed to address these issues after it acquired the company in 2018, noting that the security issues continued from 2016 to 2020.
Amazon has previously fired employees for improper use of customer data, telling US senators in 2020 that at least four employees had been fired for accessing or attempting to access data that was “more than necessary for their job duties”.
This is also not the first time that Ring doorbells have dealt with privacy complaints. The company came under scrutiny last year because it provided the police with footage of Ring products without the user’s permission. In 2020, hackers used illegal access to Ring cameras to use live attacks.
Amazon’s Ring division told ReturnByte that it settled the lawsuit to resolve the issue and move forward, but says it disagrees with the FTC’s claims. “Our focus has been and continues to be delivering the products and features our customers love, while being committed to protecting their privacy and security,” the company said in a statement. Ring quickly addressed these issues years ago, long before the FTC immediately began its investigation. While we disagree with the FTC’s allegations and deny any violation of the law, this settlement resolves the issue so we can focus on innovating for our customers. “
The company posted its official response on the Ring website.
