The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is sending over $5.6 million in refunds to consumers as part of a settlement with Ring, an Amazon-owned company that provides doorbell cameras and home security services. The settlement comes after the FTC accused Ring of failing to protect customers’ private video footage from unauthorized access.
In a complaint filed in 2023, the FTC alleged that Ring allowed its employees and contractors to access customers’ private videos without their consent, using the footage for purposes such as training algorithms. The company was also charged with failing to implement essential security measures, which led to hackers gaining control over customers’ accounts, cameras, and videos, resulting in severe violations of users’ privacy.
As part of the settlement, Ring was required to delete content that was unlawfully obtained, strengthen its security protections, and pay a substantial fine. The FTC is now using a significant portion of that money to refund eligible Ring customers.
According to a notice released on Tuesday, the FTC is sending 117,044 PayPal payments to affected consumers who owned certain types of Ring devices, including indoor cameras, during the timeframes when the alleged unauthorized access took place. Eligible customers must redeem these payments within 30 days, and they can contact the case’s refund administrator, Rust Consulting, or visit the FTC’s FAQ page on refunds for more information about the process.
In a statement to The Associated Press, Ring claimed that in 2019, bad actors used emails and passwords stolen from other companies to illegally log into the Ring accounts of certain customers who used the same credentials on multiple sites. The company stated that it promptly addressed this issue by notifying those discovered to be exposed in a third-party, non-Ring incident and taking action to protect impacted accounts. However, Ring did not directly address the FTC’s allegations of employees and contractors unlawfully accessing footage.
Earlier this year, Ring separately announced that it would no longer allow police departments to request doorbell camera footage from users, ending a feature that had drawn criticism from privacy advocates.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.