Again in January 2021, on the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Razer unveiled Challenge Hazel, a “surgical N95 respirator” with—after all—RGB lighting. There was only one downside: The Zephyr, because it got here to be recognized, wasn’t truly N95 rated in any respect, and that little oversight goes to value the corporate greater than $1.1 million.
Issues in regards to 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 called out the shortage of NIOSH certification, and our personal {hardware} honcho Dave James famous in his appraisal of the machine 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 Challenge 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 mild, 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 customers nationwide,” plus one other $100,000 as a civil penalty.
The FTC stated 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 unfavourable press protection and client 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 stated in a press release (by way of Kotaku). “The FTC will proceed to carry accountable companies that use false and unsubstantiated claims to focus on customers who’re making choices 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 in regards to 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 stated 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 not less than, Razer appeared to level the finger at media protection for improperly describing the Zephyr as an N95 masks, however the FTC stated “Razer’s specific and implicit statements prompted or contributed to that media protection, and Razer made no try to appropriate any errors in media protection till after the corporate confronted important backlash from the general public and the media for its N95-grade claims.”
The web end result 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 high 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—nevertheless 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 stated 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 neighborhood and is at all times trying to ship expertise in new and related methods.
“The Razer Zephyr was conceived to supply a distinct and progressive face masking possibility for the neighborhood. The FTC’s claims towards Razer involved restricted parts of among 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.”