The Federal Trade Commission saying This week that some people who had purchased certain home security cameras made by amazon-owned Ring would be eligible to receive refunds for their purchase. The payments, totaling more than $5.6 million, are part of a settlement between Ring and the FTC over allegations that the company failed to protect customer accounts.
This is what you should know.
What is the lawsuit about?
The FTC sued Ring last May, accusing the company of giving employees and contractors access to customers' private video streams. The agency said in its complaint that Ring had used the videos to train computer algorithms without first obtaining customers' consent. Ring also did not have adequate protections, making customer accounts, videos and cameras more vulnerable to hacking, the FTC said.
The FTC and Ring reached a settlement that month. As part of the settlement, Ring paid a settlement that would be used for refunds to customers, deleted all private videos it should not have access to, and established a privacy and security program. The FTC is now using the money Ring paid to send 117,044 PayPal payments to affected customers.
Ring did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But in a statement After the settlement, Ring said it addressed questions about its security and privacy practices “well before” the FTC's lawsuit, and that the agency “mischaracterizes our security practices and ignores the many protections we have for our customers.”
How do I know if I am eligible for the refund?
If you had a Ring account and certain types of Ring devices, such as the Stick Up Cam and Indoor Cam indoor camera models, before February 1, 2018, you are eligible for a refund, according to a court order.
Typically, the defendant (in this case, Ring) is required to provide a list of customers, their contact information, and how much they paid. The FTC will use the information to send payments.
Eligible customers should have already received an email from the FTC
How much will I receive?
Your payment depends on the type of Ring device you owned and how long you had your account.
I received a PayPal payment from the FTC. How do I know if it's real?
If you are eligible for a refund, you should have received an email from the agency (from [email protected]) by Tuesday. Since the payments were issued on Tuesday, you should have received another email from PayPal about the refund. You must redeem the payment by May 22 or it will be returned to the FTC.
If you want the FTC to send you a check or have any other questions about your payment, you can speak with the refund administrator, Rust Consulting, at 1-833-637-4884. You can also send your request by email to [email protected].
