Amazon has agreed to pay $25 million (£20 million) to settle allegations that its voice assistant, Alexa, violated children’s privacy rights. The settlement comes after the company was accused of failing to delete Alexa recordings at the request of parents. It was discovered that Amazon had retained sensitive data for extended periods of time, which is in violation of privacy regulations.
Additionally, Amazon’s doorbell camera unit, Ring, will pay out $5.8 million in response to allegations that it granted employees unrestricted access to customers’ data. The payment was disclosed in a federal court filing in the District of Columbia.
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) complaint regarding Alexa, Amazon had made repeated assurances to its users, particularly parents, that they could delete voice recordings collected by the system. However, the company failed to fulfill this promise and instead retained the data for years, utilizing it unlawfully to enhance its Alexa algorithm.
Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, stated in a press release that Amazon had misled parents, preserved children’s recordings indefinitely, and ignored deletion requests from parents. Levine accused the company of prioritizing profit over privacy, emphasizing the detrimental impact on consumers.
Similarly, the FTC revealed that Ring, which Amazon acquired in 2018, allowed “thousands of employees and contractors” to access and watch recordings of customers’ private spaces. These employees were able to view and download sensitive video data for personal use, breaching customers’ privacy.
In response to the allegations, Amazon provided a statement to the BBC, claiming that Ring had independently addressed the issues raised years ago, prior to the commencement of the FTC’s investigation. However, according to the complaint, one Ring employee had accessed numerous video recordings of female users in intimate spaces such as bathrooms and bedrooms, only ceasing their actions once discovered by a colleague.
Levine criticized Ring for its disregard of privacy and security, stating that the FTC’s order underscores the fact that prioritizing profits over privacy has negative consequences. Amazon responded by asserting its disagreement with the FTC’s claims regarding both Alexa and Ring, denying any violation of the law. Nevertheless, the company has decided to settle the matters through the agreed-upon payments, in order to move past the allegations.
Amazon added that it remains committed to developing additional privacy features for the benefit of its customers.
