FTC refunds $56M to Ring customers for privacy violations

TLDR:

• FTC issues $5.6M in refunds to Ring customers due to privacy settlement
• Ring failed to notify customers about use of security footage for training purposes and restricted access

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has decided to refund over $5.6 million to Ring customers following a privacy settlement in 2023. This action was taken after accusations emerged that employees at Ring, a home security company owned by Amazon, were spying on female customers in intimate spaces without their knowledge. Additionally, the company did not inform customers about the use of security video footage for training purposes until 2018, and failed to restrict access to the videos.

The FTC will be distributing the refunds through 117,044 PayPal payments to customers based on the type of Ring device used during the period when unauthorized users could have accessed the video footage. This move comes after the FTC’s assertion that Ring violated users’ privacy through egregious actions and lack of security safeguards.