The Federal Trade Commission hit Razer with a $1.1 million positive Tuesday. The order claims that the gaming accent maker misled shoppers by claiming that its flashy Zephyr masks was licensed as N95-grade.
“These businesses falsely claimed, in the midst of a global pandemic, that their face mask was the equivalent of an N95 certified respirator,” FTC Bureau of Consumer Projection Director Samuel Levine famous in a press release. “The FTC will continue to hold accountable businesses that use false and unsubstantiated claims to target consumers who are making decisions about their health and safety.”
Razer has predictably pushed again in opposition to the fee’s claims.
“We disagree with the FTC’s allegations and did not admit to any wrongdoing as part of the settlement,” a consultant from the corporate stated in a press release to TechCrunch. “It was never our intention to mislead anyone, and we chose to settle this matter to avoid the distraction and disruption of litigation and continue our focus on creating great products for gamers. Razer cares deeply about our community and is always looking to deliver technology in new and relevant ways.”
The firm went on to recommend that the grievance was cherrypicked, including that it went out of its solution to refund clients and finish gross sales of the Zephyr.
“The Razer Zephyr was conceived to offer a different and innovative face covering option for the community,” it notes. “The FTC’s claims against Razer concerned limited portions of some of the statements relating to the Zephyr. More than two years ago, Razer proactively notified customers that the Zephyr was not a N95 mask, stopped sales, and refunded customers.”
The FTC can be formally barring gross sales of the masks and “making COVID-related health misrepresentations or unsubstantiated health claims about protective health equipment.” It goes a step additional, “prohibit[ing] the defendants from representing the health benefits, performance, efficacy, safety, or side effects of protective goods and services (as defined in the proposed order), unless they have competent and reliable scientific evidence to support the claims made.”
The submitting means that Razer deliberately deceived shoppers into believing that the $100 masks would shield in opposition to COVID. Certainly the virus was very a lot prime of thoughts when the product first dropped in October 2021.
The order is at the moment awaiting approval and signature from a District Court decide.
