FTC sends $5.6 million in refunds to Ring customers as part of video privacy settlement

NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Trade Commission is sending more than $5.6 million in refunds to consumers as part of a settlement with Amazon-owned Ring, which was charged with failing to protect private video footage from outside access.

In a 2023 complaint, the FTC accused the doorbell camera and home security provider of allowing its employees and contractors to access customers’ private videos.

Ring allegedly used such footage to train algorithms without consent, among other purposes.

Ring was also charged with failing to implement key security protections, which enabled hackers to take control of customers’ accounts, cameras and videos.

The resulting settlement required Ring to pay a hefty fine.

The FTC says that it’s now using that money to refund eligible Ring customers.