Amazon has agreed to pay over $30 million in two federal cases alleging the company violated their users’ privacy, including children. The issue involves the tech giant’s Ring doorbell products and Alexa.
The settlements with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) result from Amazon retaining voice recordings, videos, and geolocation information for years. In some cases, the company didn’t have consent to have this data and kept it despite numerous requests from consumers to have it deleted.
The FTC also alleged that Amazon operated with lax data policies, allowing other parties to access the information without authorization.
“While we disagree with the FTC’s statements… these settlements put the matter behind us,” Amazon said in a recent statement regarding the privacy issues.
$25 Million of the Settlement Is Due to Alexa
The FTC alleges that Amazon violated children’s privacy laws with Alexa. Federal rules restrict companies from collecting personal information from kids under age 13 without parent or guardian consent.
According to the complaint, Alexa voice recordings of children were kept indefinitely unless Amazon received a specific request to delete them.
Even then, some of those requests were ignored.
The settlement for the Alexa issues represents 5/6 of the total amount that Amazon is agreeing to pay. As part of the settlement, the company must delete voice recordings and geolocation data from past consumer requests.
Amazon is also now banned from using this data to train any of its algorithms. Consumers will be notified about the settlement and implement a new privacy program for this information.
The final part of the settlement involves removing inactive child profiles after 18 months unless parents or guardians wish to have them kept.
Ring Allegedly Provided Unrestricted Access to Employees
Amazon purchased Ring in 2018. This acquisition allowed the company to enter the home security business with a proven brand.
Ring makes indoor and outdoor security cameras, alarm systems, and doorbell products.
According to the complaint accompanying the settlement, Ring gave workers unrestricted access to home security videos from customer homes. In one reported instance, a single employee viewed thousands of recordings from over 80 women during a three-month period in 2017. All the cameras had been assigned to bedrooms or bathrooms.
The FTC alleges the initial misconduct report from another employee was not taken as seriously as it should have been. It wasn’t until a supervisor noticed the behavior that the concern escalated, and the worker’s employment was eventually terminated.
Over 55,000 customers suffered brute force attacks and credential stuffing, compromising Ring devices. These attacks allowed access to countless videos despite the brand’s claims that purchasing them would increase customer security.
The total settlement for the issues with Ring-related data totals $5.8 million for Amazon to pay.
Amazon joins several tech giants, including Alphabet and Microsoft, who are paying eight-figure settlements because of data handling concerns involving children. If you use these products, please remember to review your settings periodically so that they’re set at levels you’re comfortable having