- Amazon-Owned Ring Faces Possible Class Action Lawsuit Seeking More Than $5 Million in Damages
- Familiar Faces does not operate in some states due to privacy protections
- ‘Profound privacy failure’ affects millions of Americans
Doorbell giant Ring, an Amazon company, is now facing a proposed class-action lawsuit in the US over its ‘Familiar Faces’ feature, which uses AI to identify and tag people who come to the door.
The lawsuit, filed by a Virginia resident, accuses the company of collecting and storing biometric information about him without his consent when he visited the homes of friends and family.
According to the complaint, the technology collects and stores facial biometric data of anyone who appears within the camera’s field of view, regardless of whether they are visiting the home or not.
Ring accused of collecting and storing facial biometric data
Charles Sigwalt, the Virginia resident behind the class-action lawsuit, noted that Ring’s system creates and stores the so-called faceprints of anyone within range of a compatible camera.
The lawsuit seeks at least $5 million in damages, but this figure could increase if a larger class of affected people is approved.
It’s worth noting that Familiar Faces is only approved for use in a few states: Illinois, Texas, and Portland, Oregon, are protected by stricter biometric privacy rules.
This is not the first time the Amazon-owned company has faced pressure: in 2023 it paid a $5.8 million settlement to the FTC over allegations related to employee access to customer videos.
The company also recently faced backlash for a service advertised at the Super Bowl that used its network of cameras to help locate lost dogs; critics warned about neighborhood policing.
In the lawsuit, the plaintiff concludes that Ring has created a “profound privacy failure for millions of people who are now being tracked by Amazon.”
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