“[Razer] falsely claimed, in the midst of a global pandemic, that their face mask was the equivalent of an N95 certified respirator,” Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement.

Razer never got the Zephyr tested by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health or the US Food and Drug Administration and the Zephyr never received N95 certification.

The FTC’s complaint against Razer, which is best known for high-priced, RGB-riddled PC gaming peripherals, claimed that Razer continued promoting the Zephyr despite consultants highlighting the mask’s lack of certification and protection.

Razer reportedly refunded fewer than 6 percent of Zephyr purchases in the US.

However, the proposed settlement against Razer includes a $100,000 civil penalty, plus $1,071,254.33, which the FTC said is equal to the amount of revenue Razer made from the Zephyr and will go toward refunding “defrauded consumers.”

  • Serra
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    8 months ago

    As far as I am aware Naomi Wu was one of the first people to file an FTC complaint. She has a video about the mask on YouTube.

    Sadly she is being silenced by the Chinese government. Probably because she reported privacy problems with smartphone keyboards. Privacy that can be very important. For example if you are LGBT and your partner is of the Uyghur minority.

    • @[email protected]B
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      38 months ago

      Here is an alternative Piped link(s):

      YouTube

      Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.

      I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.