Penalty Amount
$5,600,000
Consumers Affected
117,044
The FTC settled with Ring for failing to secure consumer videos, allowing unauthorized access by employees and hackers. Ring agreed to provide $5.6 million in refunds to affected customers and implement security measures.
Ring is required to provide refunds totaling over $5.6 million to affected consumers and implement security safeguards to protect customer videos.
In-house legal teams should review customer agreements (e.g., terms of service, privacy policies) for clauses governing data security, access controls, and video privacy, ensuring they impose obligations to secure consumer videos, restrict employee/contractor access, obtain consent for video use (such as algorithm training), and include breach notification procedures. Vendor agreements must be assessed for third-party security standards, and employee agreements should incorporate access control provisions. Potential changes include adding explicit security standards, mandatory consent mechanisms, enhanced breach response protocols, and refund or compensation terms for security failures.
Entity
Ring
Industry
TechnologyOfficial Press Release
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/04/ftc-sends-refunds-ring-customers-stemming-2023-settlement-over-charges-company-failed-block
ftc says ring employees illegally surveilled customers faile
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/05/ftc-says-ring-employees-illegally-surveilled-customers-failed-stop-hackers-taking-control-users
Federal Trade Commission Enforcement Page
https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement
"Ring"
"Ring deceived its customers by failing to restrict employees’ and contractors’ access to its customers’ videos, using its customer videos to train algorithms without consent, and failing to implement security safeguards."
"117,044 PayPal payments"
The FTC filed a complaint alleging that GovAssist LLC, Entry LLC, and Scott Zuckerman used deceptive paid search ads, misleading service and pricing claims, and fake reviews to deceive consumers seeking passport services. The complaint alleges violations of the FTC Act, the Impersonation Rule, and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act; the case will be decided by the court, and no penalty or remedy is reported as imposed.
The FTC issued its annual report to Congress describing fraud trends affecting older adults and the agency’s enforcement, education, and outreach efforts. The report is not a specific privacy enforcement action and announces no penalty or remedy.
The FTC referred a complaint against REPS & Company Inc. and company executives, alleging they bypassed ticket-issuer security controls and purchasing limits to acquire millions of tickets for resale. The complaint was filed by the Department of Justice, and the case will be decided by the court; the press release does not report a penalty or other remedy imposed.
$106.8M
A federal court entered a $106.8 million default judgment against corporate defendants in an alleged debt-relief scheme that impersonated banks and government entities and targeted seniors and veterans. The judgment permanently bans the defendants from the debt-relief industry and imposes additional prohibitions, including on impersonation, telemarketing, and misrepresentations.
The FTC sued Digital Forensics Corporation LLC and affiliated defendants, alleging they misled sextortion victims with promises of investigative and monitoring services that often were not provided, and used fake positive reviews. A federal court granted the FTC’s request to temporarily halt the defendants’ activities; the complaint remains for the court to decide.
The FTC alleged that Greenway Auto Group advertised vehicle prices thousands of dollars below the amounts consumers actually paid and used mailers falsely suggesting recipients had won cash prizes. Greenway agreed to an order requiring transparent pricing and prohibiting deceptive prize mailers and other misrepresentations; the press release does not state a monetary penalty.