The United States (U.S.) Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has ordered the gaming hardware company Razer to pay over US$1.1 million, or S$1.5 million, for misrepresenting the performance and efficacy of its Zephyr masks.

Masks were never certified as N95-grade

The FTC said in a news release on Apr. 29, 2024 that the sum will go towards providing a full refund to Razer's customers who had purchased the "deceptively marketed products".

The sum also includes a civil penalty of US$100,000 (S$136,000).

The FTC said Razer, along with its affiliated entities, advertised the Zephyr mask as an N95 or N95-equivalent mask that would protect consumers from contracting Covid-19.

However, Razer, along with its affiliated entities, never submitted the masks to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health for testing, nor were the masks ever certified as N95-grade, the FTC said.

FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection director Samuel Levine said, "These businesses falsely claimed, in the midst of a global [Covid-19] pandemic, that their face mask was the equivalent of an N95 certified respirator."

FTC said Razer and its affiliated entities allegedly only stopped the false advertising after negative press coverage and consumer outrage at their deceptive claims.

About the Zephyr mask

The Zephyr mask sold out within minutes after its launch in 2021, Razer previously claimed.

The Razer Zephyr mask was sold with three sets of filters, or 33 sets of filters. Zephyr mask filters could also be bought in sets of 10 then.

Razer previously claimed on its website that the masks offered "N95 grade filters with two-way protection".

According to the FTC, N95 respirators, frequently referred to as N95 masks, must filter at least 95 per cent of ambient air particles between 0.1 and 0.3 micrometres in size, with even higher filtration levels for larger particles.

A Shenzhen-based YouTuber uploaded a video where she conducted an in-depth review of the Zephyr mask.

She called out Razer for being "misleading and dishonest" for using the label "N95" in their marketing materials for their range of Zephyr masks.

Razer attempted to defend itself before subsequently retracting all claims that its Zephyr and Zephyr Pro mask filters are N95-grade.

Razer spokesperson said company had no intention to mislead anyone

In response to Mothership's queries, a Razer spokesperson said they disagreed with the FTC's allegations, adding that the claims against Razer concerned limited portions of some of the statements relating to the Zephyr mask.

The spokesperson 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."

The spokesperson also said that over two years ago, Razer "proactively notified customers" that the Zephyr was not an N95 mask, stopped sales, and refunded customers.

Top image from Razer