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amazonThe Ring doorbell unit will pay the Federal Trade Commission $5.8 million to address privacy violations, according to a complaint filed Wednesday.
The agency alleges that Ring violated a section of the FTC Act that prohibits unfair or deceptive business practices.
While Ring claims its products help keep customers safe through doorbell security cameras, the FTC alleges that Ring instead included customer information by giving third-party contractors access to customer videos, even though it wasn’t necessary to do so in their jobs.
Before July 2017, Ring employees and those working for Ukrainian third-party contractors could access and download each customer’s video without technical or procedural restrictions, the FTC said.
Amazon reportedly bought Ring in 2018 for $1 billion, and the company now operates as an Amazon subsidiary. The deal helps Amazon expand its presence in the smart home and home security space. But Ring has also been a major source of Amazon scrutiny because of its security protocols and contentious partnerships with police departments.
In 2020, Ring said that after receiving calls from to intercept and Information Discovered that Ring workers in Ukraine have unrestricted access to video from Ring cameras around the world.
The company stepped up its security measures after a series of incidents in which hackers compromised multiple users’ cameras.In one case, the hacker able to watch and communicate An 8 year old girl. Ring blamed the problem on users reusing their passwords.
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