Again in January 2021, on the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Razer unveiled Venture Hazel, a “surgical N95 respirator” with—after all—RGB lighting. There was only one downside: The Zephyr, because it got here to be identified, wasn’t truly N95 rated in any respect, and that little oversight goes to value the corporate greater than $1.1 million.
Issues concerning the Zephyr’s supposed Nationwide Institute for Occupational Security and Well being (NIOSH) ranking surfaced a yr after it was first introduced, when specimens started showing in public. Tech YouTuber Naomi Wu referred to as out the dearth of NIOSH certification, and our personal {hardware} honcho Dave James famous in his appraisal of the gadget that, whereas it granted him a sure Bane-style drip, it’s “not a medical grade masks designed to be worn in a hospital setting.”
Razer acknowledged when Venture Hazel was first introduced that it was not a medical grade masks, however the advertising and marketing supplies billed it as a “surgical N95 respirator.” The corporate started eradicating the N95 labelling from its web site as soon as the complaints got here to gentle, and says that it “proactively notified prospects that the Zephyr was not a N95 masks, stopped gross sales, and refunded prospects,” however that was too little, too late for the FTC, which has hit the corporate with a penalty of greater than $1 million “to offer full refunds to shoppers nationwide,” plus one other $100,000 as a civil penalty.
The FTC mentioned that whereas the Zephyr was promoted as an N95 masks, it was by no means truly submitted for testing by the FDA or NIOSH. Moreover, the FTC alleged that “Razer solely stopped the false promoting following unfavorable press protection and shopper outrage on the misleading claims.”
“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 Safety director Samuel Levine mentioned in a press release (through Kotaku). “The FTC will proceed to carry accountable companies that use false and unsubstantiated claims to focus on shoppers who’re making selections about their well being and security.”
The complete grievance filed by the FTC notes that Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan made a number of Fb posts concerning the Zephyr masks, together with one claiming “we have been getting the masks licensed,” and one other stating its filters “have been examined and licensed for 99% BFE (bacterial filtration effectivity), the identical requirements for probably the most demanding medical grade masks on the market.” The FTC mentioned the assertion “implied {that a} authorities company licensed the filter’s efficiency,” however that by no means truly occurred.
Moreover, the FTC alleges that whereas Razer knew the Zephyr didn’t meet required N95 requirements, the corporate’s senior director of regulatory and compliance ordered that disclaimers to that impact be faraway from packaging simply forward of launch. Internally at the least, Razer appeared to level the finger at media protection for improperly describing the Zephyr as an N95 masks, however the FTC mentioned “Razer’s specific and implicit statements precipitated or contributed to that media protection, and Razer made no try to right any errors in media protection till after the corporate confronted vital backlash from the general public and the media for its N95-grade claims.”
The online consequence for Razer is a settlement with the FTC to the tune of $1,071,254.33, “equal to Razer’s income from the masks,” which the FTC will use to offer refunds to prospects, and one other $100,000 on prime of that as a reminder to not do it once more. It is a relative drop within the bucket—Razer reported full-year earnings of greater than $1.6 billion in 2021—however it’s not nothing. And Razer, understandably, is not proud of the end result.
“We disagree with the FTC’s allegations and didn’t admit to any wrongdoing as a part of the settlement,” a spokesperson mentioned in a press release offered to PC Gamer. “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 concentrate on creating nice merchandise for avid gamers. Razer cares deeply about our group and is all the time trying to ship know-how in new and related methods.
“The Razer Zephyr was conceived to supply a unique and revolutionary face overlaying choice for the group. The FTC’s claims towards Razer involved restricted parts of a number of the statements regarding the Zephyr. Greater than two years in the past, Razer proactively notified prospects that the Zephyr was not a N95 masks, stopped gross sales, and refunded prospects.”