(Credit: Razer)
Razer's marketing claims around its Zephyr gaming mask—which promised medical-grade air filtration—has landed the company in trouble with the Federal Trade Commission.
The FTC today announced it's fining Razer over $1.1 million for deceptively advertising the Zephyr mask as a N95-certified mask.
"According to the FTC, while Razer advertised the Zephyr masks as N95-grade, they never even submitted them for testing to the FDA or National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and the masks were never certified as N95," the regulator says.
The $99.99 mask debuted in January 2021. With COVID-19 still raging, Razer said its mask was outfitted with N95-medical grade respirators and air-purification capabilities designed to filter out airborne germs. It launched in October and quickly hit the reseller market at inflated prices.
(Credit: FTC)But according to the FTC's complaint, Razer's own "consultants" at a Singapore contractor told the company that the Zephyr "would not be certified as an N95 mask, and would not provide a level of protection equivalent to a disposable N95 mask."
The FTC also said Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan promoted the mask while making “explicit health claims, positioning the mask as a reusable N95, and claiming that Razer was seeking certification, when [the company] knew that they had never sought—and were not seeking—such certification.”
The FTC cites internal emails at Razer and social media posts hyping up the Zephyr mask. The court complaint adds that one "product designer for the Zephyr conceded that [Razer] had no scientific proof that the Zephyr offers the same protection as an N95 face mask, stating: 'We were not able to arrive at a conclusive test using the whole mask.'"
(Credit: FTC)The FTC adds that the company only stopped the N95 marketing in January 2022 due to negative press coverage and backlash about the misleading advertising. In addition, the complaint notes that regulators in Europe also opened an inquiry into the Zephyr mask.
In a statement, Razer said: "We disagree with the FTC’s allegations and did not admit to any wrongdoing as part of the settlement. 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 Razer Zephyr was conceived to offer a different and innovative face covering option for the community. 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," it added.
The FTC, however, argues that Razer did not make enough of an effort on the refunds. "While [Razer purports] to have instituted a policy of fully refunding consumers concerned about the filters on January 9, 2022, [it] did not promote that policy in its January emails to consumers or on its website," the FTC says in its complaint.
Ultimately, Razer "refunded less than 6% of US Zephyr-related purchases," the FTC says. So approximately $1.07 million of the fine will go toward refunds. Razer has also agreed to pay a $100,000 civil penalty for making false marketing claims.
The same settlement also bars Razer "from making COVID-related health misrepresentations or unsubstantiated health claims about protective health equipment."