Amazon to pay $30M to settle FTC privacy allegations over Ring, Alexa 

Amazon will pay more than $30 million to settle two separate charges from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over allegations of violating user privacy.

Amazon’s Ring will pay $5.8 million to settle allegations that the home security camera company violated customer privacy, the agency said Wednesday. Amazon will pay $25 million in a separate agreement announced Wednesday over allegations the company violated children’s online privacy laws through its smart speakers and Alexa app. 

The FTC alleged Ring deceived customers by failing to restrict access to customers’ videos to employees and contractors and by using customer videos to train algorithms without gaining consent. 

The FTC alleged the conduct violated users’ privacy. In one instance, an employee over several months allegedly viewed thousands of video recordings belonging to female users of Ring cameras that surveilled intimate spaces, including their bathrooms and bedrooms, according to the complaint. 

The FTC also alleged Ring failed to implement basic measures to monitor and detect employees’ video access, and even after imposing restrictions on access could not determine whether many other employees inappropriately accessed private videos. 

“Ring’s disregard for privacy and security exposed consumers to spying and harassment,” Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s bureau of consumer protection, said in a statement.

“The FTC’s order makes clear that putting profit over privacy doesn’t pay,” Levine said.

As part of the order, subject to approval by a federal court, Ring will also be required to delete data products, including models and algorithms derived from videos that the product unlawfully reviewed.

The company will also be required to implement a privacy and security program that includes human reviews of videos and other security controls. 

Amazon acquired California-based Ring in 2018. The company sells internet-connected, video-enabled home security cameras, doorbells and other related products. 

A spokesperson for Ring said the company “promptly addressed these issues on its own years ago, well before the FTC began its inquiry.”

“While we disagree with the FTC’s allegations and deny violating the law, this settlement resolves this matter so we can focus on innovating on behalf of our customers,” the spokesperson added. 

The complaint against Amazon over children’s privacy alleges that Alexa’s default settings save children’s voice recordings even after a child’s account has been inactive. The agency said the allegation violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act’s prohibition on retaining children’s personal information longer than is reasonably necessary to fulfill the purposes for which the information is collected. 

The FTC also alleged Amazon failed for a “significant period of time” to honor parents’ requests to delete their children’s voice recordings, according to the complaint. 

An Amazon spokesperson said in a statement that “while we disagree with the FTC’s claims and deny violating the law, this settlement puts the matter behind us.”

“As part of the settlement, we agreed to make a small modification to our already strong practices, and will remove child profiles that have been inactive for more than 18 months unless a parent or guardian chooses to keep them,” the spokesperson added.