FTC awarding more than $5M in refunds to Ring customers over privacy settlement

by Nick Robertson - 04/25/24 1:18 PM ET

FILE - Ernie Field pushes the doorbell on his Ring doorbell camera, July 16, 2019, at his home in Wolcott, Conn. In a vote Wednesday, May 31, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission is ordering Amazon to pay more than $30 million in fines over privacy violations involving its voice assistant Alexa and its doorbell camera Ring. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File) — FILE – Ernie Field pushes the doorbell on his Ring doorbell camera, July 16, 2019, at his home in Wolcott, Conn. In a vote Wednesday, May 31, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission is ordering Amazon to pay more than $30 million in fines over privacy violations involving its voice assistant Alexa and its doorbell camera Ring. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) began distributing more than $5 million in refunds to Amazon Ring customers Tuesday, enforcing a settlement with the tech giant over claims that Ring failed to protect consumer privacy.

The FTC claimed in a 2023 complaint that Ring allowed employees and contractors improper access to records from the company’s security cameras, potentially putting customers’ privacy at risk. Ring allegedly used such footage to train algorithms without consent, among other purposes.

The agency called the lapses “egregious violations of users’ privacy.”

Amazon, which owns Ring, settled the claims last year and agreed to pay $5.6 million in refunds to Ring customers. The company separately settled a second privacy claim over its Alexa voice assistant for $25 million.

The FTC said it will send refunds to more than 115,000 customers who owned certain Ring devices, including indoor cameras, via PayPal.

The refunds perpetuate public concerns about Ring camera data privacy. The company announced in January that it would no longer share video with law enforcement, following criticism from customers.

Tags Amazon FTC privacy Ring