Amazon faces class action over Ring facial recognition privacy claims
The Seattle-filed lawsuit follows a history of regulatory scrutiny for the smart doorbell maker, including a 2023 FTC settlement and cancelled law enforcement partnerships.
Amazon is facing a class action lawsuit in Seattle over privacy allegations surrounding its Ring doorbell cameras. Virginia resident Charles Sigwalt filed the suit on Monday, claiming the company’s 'Familiar Faces' feature stores images of passersby without their consent. The legal action centres on the AI-powered facial recognition system, which allows users to identify regular visitors such as family members or mail carriers to receive specific notifications.
Privacy advocates have long criticised the feature, arguing that individuals captured on camera have not agreed to the data collection. The lawsuit states that millions of Americans passed by Ring security cameras and unknowingly had their facial recognition information collected. While Ring users must opt in to the feature, the suit contends this does not extend consent to the broader public whose images are processed by the device.
Amazon has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding the new litigation. At the time of the feature’s release, the company maintained that face data is encrypted and never shared. Amazon also stated that unidentified faces are automatically removed from the system after 30 days. The 'Familiar Faces' feature was announced last September and launched in December, despite pushback from consumer protection groups and Senator Ed Markey.
The legal challenge adds to a record of privacy controversies for Ring. In 2023, Amazon paid a $5.8 million fine to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) following allegations that staff and contractors improperly accessed private videos from customers. The FTC complaint alleged that every employee had full access to every customer video, regardless of whether the worker needed to view the footage.
Ring has also faced scrutiny over its relationships with law enforcement. The company previously granted police the ability to request footage without a warrant and introduced an AI-powered feature called 'Search Party' to help locate lost pets. Following backlash over that initiative and concerns regarding a planned partnership with video surveillance company Flock Safety, Ring cancelled the deal, citing workload concerns according to founder Jamie Siminoff.
