I’ll cut straight to the allegations ~
- Every employee of Ring and its Ukraine-based third-party contractor had access to every Ring customer’s videos. For cameras outside and inside the home.
- Between June and August of 2017, a Ring employee viewed thousands of records belonging to 81 unique female customers or fellow employees.
- Bad actors compromised the accounts of approximately 55,000 U.S. customers.
- Hackers took control of five hundred in-home devices (cameras) and ~
- Cursed at women lying in bed;
- Uttered racist slurs at children;
- Sexually propositioned a teenager;
- Sexually propositioned and physically threatened an 87-year old woman living in an assisted living facility;
- Told a woman that they had killed her mother, saying, “Tonight you die;”
- Threatened a family with physical harm if they did not pay a ransom in Bitcoin; and
- Told a woman that her location was being tracked and her device would self-destruct at the end of their countdown.
These are the allegations made by the Federal Trade Commission in its Complaint filed today against Ring LLC, a company that sells Internet-connected, video-enabled security cameras, doorbells, and related accessories to consumers. Since 2016, Ring has sold more than a million indoor cameras.
The FTC also filed a Proposed Stipulated Order signed by the FTC and Ring according to which Ring has agreed to pay a $5.8 million financial settlement, delete certain videos, and implement a “comprehensive privacy and security program.”
Ring neither admits nor denies the allegations.
Y’all be careful with technology in your home, folks.
~Todd
This publication is provided only for educational purposes; it should not be relied upon as legal advice, and it should not be used, in whole or in part, as a basis for establishing practices or policies, nor should it be used for resolving disputes or managing risk. Every reader’s circumstance is unique, and legal advice should be obtained only from a lawyer with whom the reader has established an attorney-client relationship. Copyright 2023 © Higey Law LLC. All material contained within this publication is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced without the express written consent of Higey Law.