Razer hit with $1.1M FTC fine over glowing ‘N95’ mask COVID claims

The Federal Commerce Fee hit Razer with a $1.1 million effective Tuesday. The order claims that the gaming accent maker misled customers by claiming that its flashy Zephyr masks was licensed as N95-grade.

“These companies falsely claimed, within the midst of a worldwide pandemic, that their face masks was the equal of an N95 licensed respirator,” FTC Bureau of Shopper Projection Director Samuel Levine famous in an announcement. “The FTC will proceed to carry accountable companies that use false and unsubstantiated claims to focus on customers who’re making selections about their well being and security.”

Razer has predictably pushed again in opposition to the fee’s claims.

“We disagree with the FTC’s allegations and didn’t admit to any wrongdoing as a part of the settlement,” a consultant from the corporate stated in an announcement to TechCrunch. “It was by no means our intention to mislead anybody, and we selected to settle this matter to keep away from the distraction and disruption of litigation and proceed our deal with creating nice merchandise for players. Razer cares deeply about our group and is at all times seeking to ship expertise in new and related methods.”

The corporate went on to counsel that the criticism was cherrypicked, including that it went out of its method to refund clients and finish gross sales of the Zephyr.

“The Razer Zephyr was conceived to supply a unique and revolutionary face overlaying possibility for the group,” it notes. “The FTC’s claims in opposition to Razer involved restricted parts of a number of the statements referring to the Zephyr. Greater than two years in the past, Razer proactively notified clients that the Zephyr was not a N95 masks, stopped gross sales, and refunded clients.”

The FTC can be formally barring gross sales of the masks and “making COVID-related well being misrepresentations or unsubstantiated well being claims about protecting well being tools.” It goes a step additional, “prohibit[ing] the defendants from representing the well being advantages, efficiency, efficacy, security, or uncomfortable side effects of protecting items and companies (as outlined within the proposed order), until they’ve competent and dependable scientific proof to help the claims made.”

The submitting means that Razer deliberately deceived customers into believing that the $100 masks would shield in opposition to COVID. Actually the virus was very a lot prime of thoughts when the product first dropped in October 2021.

The order is at present awaiting approval and signature from a District Court docket choose.