Ring has been collecting visitor's facial biometrics without consent, class action lawsuit alleges

Amazon-owned Ring faces a proposed class-action lawsuit in the US over its 'Familiar Faces' feature, which uses AI to identify and label people. The lawsuit, filed by a Virginia resident, accuses the company of collecting and storing biometric information about him without his consent when he visited friends' and relatives' homes. The complaint alleges that the technology collects and stores facial biometrics from anyone who appears within the camera's field of view, regardless of whether they are visiting the house. The plaintiff, Charles Sigwalt, claims Ring creates and stores 'faceprints' from anyone within reach of a supported camera. The lawsuit seeks at least $5 million in damages. Familiar Faces is only approved for use in some states, such as Illinois and Texas, which have stricter biometric privacy regulations. This is not the first time Ring has faced scrutiny; in 2023, it paid a $5.8 million settlement to the FTC over allegations relating to employees' access to customer videos. The company also faced recent backlash over a Super Bowl-advertised service that used its camera network to help locate lost dogs. The plaintiff concludes that Ring has created a 'profound privacy failure for millions of people who are now being tracked by Amazon.'

(Source：TechRadar)