Amazon faces class action lawsuit over Ring facial recognition feature
Amazon faces a class action lawsuit over its Ring doorbell cameras and their "Familiar Faces" facial recognition feature. The lawsuit alleges that the feature infringes on privacy by collecting and storing facial recognition data of passersby without their consent.
Amazon is facing a class action lawsuit over alleged privacy violations stemming from its Ring doorbell cameras. The lawsuit, filed in Seattle, claims that Ring’s "Familiar Faces" feature stores images of passersby without their consent. This feature utilizes AI facial recognition to identify individuals who regularly approach a user's home.
Concerns about the "Familiar Faces" feature were raised by consumer protection organizations and a senator when it was announced. Although Ring users must opt-in to use the feature, privacy advocates highlight that individuals passing by these doorbells have not provided consent for their facial recognition data to be scanned.
This lawsuit is not the first privacy-related issue for Amazon's Ring. In 2023, Amazon settled with the FTC for $5.8 million due to allegations that company staff improperly accessed private customer videos. Ring has also faced scrutiny for its relationships with law enforcement, which previously allowed police to request user footage without a warrant.
Amazon did not immediately comment on the lawsuit. The company had previously stated that facial data collected by the feature is encrypted and never shared, with unidentified faces automatically deleted after 30 days.
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