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Amazon's Ring doorbell camera unit has been in hot water with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission for violating customers' privacy. Amazon  employees allegedly spied on female customers with cameras placed in their bedrooms and bathrooms. 

In a separate settlement, Amazon was also accused of violating children's privacy rights by not deleting Alexa recordings and keeping them longer than necessary. 

These settlements are part of the FTC's efforts to hold Big Tech accountable for prioritising data collection profits over privacy.

 Amazon is also under investigation for a deal to buy iRobot and is facing a separate antitrust probe. 

The FTC stated that Ring gave employees unrestricted access to sensitive video data, allowing them to view, download, and transfer customer data. One employee even viewed videos of 81 female customers for months without detection. Additionally, an employee gave Ring devices to others and watched their videos without their knowledge. 

In the separate complaint filed against Amazon, the FTC accused the company of violating children's privacy rules and deceiving Alexa users by not deleting voice transcripts and location information as promised. These unlawfully retained voice recordings allowed Amazon to train the Alexa algorithm at the expense of children's privacy.

- CyberBeat