Amazon's Ring used to spy on customers, FTC says in privacy settlement

FILE PHOTO: An Amazon Ring sign is shown as a security warning at the entrance to a residential home in Encinitas, California, U.S., September 30, 2021. Picture taken September 30, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Blake

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A former employee of Amazon.com's Ring doorbell camera unit spied for months on female customers in 2017 with cameras placed in bedrooms and bathrooms, the Federal Trade Commission said in a court filing on Wednesday when it announced a $5.8 million settlement with the company over privacy violations.

Amazon also agreed to pay $25 million to settle allegations it violated children's privacy rights when it failed to delete Alexa recordings at the request of parents and kept them longer than necessary, according to a court filing in federal court in Seattle that outlined a separate settlement.