The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced refunds totaling more than $5.6 million to consumers who purchased Amazon's Ring camera during a period of potential privacy breaches.
The reimbursements are slated for 117,044 individuals who owned specific Ring devices, as part of a settlement stemming from allegations that Amazon allowed employees and contractors access to users' videos. This disclosure was made by the FTC earlier this week.
Recipients of the refunds will receive payments via PayPal, with amounts varying between $150.00 and $47.70, depending on factors such as the type of Ring device owned and the timeframe of account usage, as per information provided to CBS MoneyWatch by the agency.
The FTC has emphasized the importance of redeeming the PayPal payments within a 30-day window.
These refunds come nearly a year after the FTC and Amazon reached a settlement regarding claims that the company failed to adequately protect customer security, leading to instances where hackers threatened or sexually propositioned Ring owners, reported ABC News.
In response to these allegations, Amazon's Ring division stated to CBS News that it had proactively addressed these issues years prior to the FTC's inquiry. Amazon maintained its disagreement with the FTC's claims, asserting its compliance with the law. The company expressed its intent to move forward from the settlement and focus on enhancing customer services.
The lawsuit, which also highlighted incidents predating Amazon's acquisition of Ring in 2018, shed light on a case from 2017 where an employee purportedly accessed videos belonging to 81 women, underscoring the gravity of the privacy breaches.
