Amazon Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over Ring’s Facial Recognition Technology

On Monday, Amazon faced a lawsuit regarding potential privacy violations related to its Ring doorbell cameras. The class action suit, filed in Seattle by Virginia resident Charles Sigwalt, claims that Ring’s Familiar Faces feature captures images of individuals passing by without their consent.

Launched last September, the Familiar Faces feature has drawn criticism from consumer advocacy groups like the EFF and Senator Ed Markey (D-MA). Nevertheless, Ring proceeded with its rollout in December.

This feature allows Ring users to identify regular visitors using AI facial recognition technology. Consequently, when someone such as a family member, mail carrier, or neighbor approaches the door, the device can send detailed notifications such as “Dad is at the door” rather than a vague “A person is at the door.” While users are required to opt in to use this feature, privacy advocates are concerned that individuals passing by these Ring doorbells have not consented to have their faces scanned. This matter is central to the current lawsuit.

The lawsuit asserts, “Millions of other Americans walked past a Ring security camera and unknowingly had their facial recognition data collected.”

Amazon has yet to respond swiftly to requests for comments. When the feature launched, the company stated that facial data is encrypted and not shared; faces that remain unrecognized are deleted after 30 days.

Ring has a concerning history regarding user privacy. In 2023, Amazon settled with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), resulting in a $5.8 million fine for allegations that its employees and contractors improperly accessed private videos belonging to female customers. The FTC’s complaint revealed that all employees had unrestricted access to every customer video, even in cases where they had no legitimate reasons to view that content. Furthermore, Ring has maintained connections with law enforcement and had previously permitted police to request Ring footage from users without a warrant.

After airing a Super Bowl advertisement to promote Search Party, an AI-driven feature that utilizes Ring footage to assist in locating lost pets, the company faced further backlash. Shortly thereafter, Ring canceled its plans to partner with video surveillance firm Flock Safety, which was accused of sharing footage with ICE and other federal agencies. In a discussion with TechCrunch following the termination of the deal with Flock Safety, Ring founder Jamie Siminoff mentioned that the partnership would have led to an excessive “workload.”