The FTC has imposed a settlement on Ring for failing to protect customers’ private video footage, leading to unauthorized access and misuse for algorithm training. As part of the settlement, Ring is issuing over $5.6 million in refunds to affected consumers, underscoring significant lapses in both business ethics and technological safeguards.

The FTC alleges that Ring allowed employees and contractors unrestricted access to customers' video data and delayed implementing multi-factor authentication until 2019. Under the settlement, Ring must delete pre-2018 customer videos, notify affected customers, and report unauthorized accesses, highlighting significant shortcomings in consumer data protection.

Ring, the maker of home security devices, will pay $5.8M to settle FTC allegations that its employees and contractors improperly accessed sensitive customer videos. The settlement requires Ring to improve its data security procedures by establishing a 20‐year data security program and regularly assessing employee and contractor access to customer data.

The FTC filed a complaint against Ring for illegally surveilling customers and failing to implement adequate security and privacy measures. The investigation found that Ring employees accessed thousands of private video recordings—including intimate spaces—without proper oversight, and that the company’s lax security practices allowed hackers to exploit vulnerabilities, compromising consumer safety and privacy.

A congressional committee wrote a letter to Ring on February 19, 2020, demanding detailed information about its partnerships with over 400 local police departments. The letter highlights concerns over Ring's control of data, including editing police press releases, and the potential integration of facial-recognition tools, raising alarm over the company’s role in bolstering expansive surveillance practices.

Lawmakers from the House Committee on Oversight and Reform have issued a letter demanding answers from Ring regarding its extensive partnerships with over 900 police departments, which enable access to widespread residential surveillance. The inquiry questions the transparency and ethical practices behind these agreements, including how surveillance data is provided to law enforcement.

A House subcommittee requested documents from Ring regarding its partnerships with local police and city governments, including arrangements for discounted products in exchange for subsidies, tight control over public statements, and the provision of surveillance technology that gives law enforcement expansive access to private security feeds.

Congressional lawmakers expressed alarm that Ring may be pursuing facial recognition technology that could flag individuals as suspicious, prompting the company to review their practices. This has raised concerns about potential abuses of surveillance and biased profiling.