Key facts
- Amazon faces a class-action lawsuit over its Ring doorbell's "Familiar Faces" facial recognition feature.
- The lawsuit was filed in Seattle by Virginia resident Charles Sigwalt.
- The suit seeks $5 million in damages.
- The "Familiar Faces" feature uses AI to identify regular visitors to a Ring owner's home.
- The lawsuit argues that visitors' facial data is collected without their consent.
Amazon has been hit with a class-action lawsuit in Seattle, seeking $5 million in damages, over the facial recognition capabilities of its Ring video doorbell cameras. The lawsuit, filed by Virginia resident Charles Sigwalt, targets the "Familiar Faces" feature, which uses AI to identify regular visitors like family members, mail carriers, or delivery drivers. The core of the legal challenge is the assertion that visitors' facial data is collected without their explicit consent, a practice that privacy advocates and lawmakers have previously flagged as a violation of privacy laws. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) had previously criticized the feature upon its announcement, noting that many biometric privacy laws require affirmative consent before facial recognition data can be collected. U.S. Senator Ed Markey also expressed concerns last year, warning of expanded surveillance and privacy risks. This lawsuit follows previous controversies involving Ring, including a partnership with Flock for a "Search Party" feature that was criticized for surveillance implications and a settlement with the FTC exceeding $5 million due to employees accessing customer camera data.