(Courtesy: Nebraska Attorney General’s Office)
Resideo Technologies and ADI Global Distribution have agreed to stop selling Dahua- and Hikvision-manufactured surveillance products in Nebraska and pay $400,000 under a settlement with the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office.
Lancaster County District Judge Ryan Post approved the final consent judgment Friday in a consumer-protection lawsuit filed by Attorney General Mike Hilgers.
The state alleged Resideo and ADI deceptively marketed security and smart-home products manufactured by Dahua and Hikvision despite significant cybersecurity vulnerabilities. According to the Attorney General’s Office, the products were susceptible to backdoors, remote-access flaws and other weaknesses that could permit unauthorized access to live or recorded audio and video.
The state also alleged that the companies made misleading safety representations and failed to adequately disclose the manufacturers’ reported connections to the Chinese government.
Resideo and ADI denied the state’s allegations and denied violating Nebraska’s Consumer Protection Act or Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The settlement was entered without a trial, a court finding of wrongdoing, or an admission that either company violated the law.
Sales Restrictions
The consent judgment says the companies had already stopped selling Dahua-manufactured products in Nebraska and must continue that prohibition. They also agreed to cease Nebraska sales of Hikvision-manufactured products when the lawsuit is dismissed.
The restrictions include products sold under third-party names. ADI previously sold Dahua-manufactured equipment under its “Capture” brand.
The sales prohibitions could be lifted if the federal government later determines the products no longer pose national-security or data-privacy risks, comply with federal defense requirements, or are removed from applicable federal restrictions.
“There is still more work to do, but today’s settlement brings the State one step closer to ridding itself of these dangerous and harmful products,” Hilgers said in a statement.
$400,000 Payment and Consumer Refunds
Resideo and ADI must pay the state $400,000 within seven days of the court’s approval:
* $200,000 will be deposited into the State Settlement Trust Fund for a consumer-remediation program administered by the Attorney General’s Office.
* $200,000 will go to the State Settlement Cash Fund for investigative and legal costs, consumer-protection or privacy enforcement, consumer education and other purposes allowed under state law.
The consent judgment specifies that the payment is not a fine or penalty. Any money remaining after the consumer-remediation program ends will be transferred to the State Settlement Cash Fund.
The Attorney General’s Office says Nebraska residents or businesses that purchased a Dahua or Hikvision product from Resideo or ADI within the past four years may be eligible for a refund. That may include eligible Dahua-manufactured products marketed under the Capture brand.
Potential claimants should first review the state’s Resideo and ADI settlement instructions and then submit a claim to AGOclaims@nebraska.gov
The settlement does not eliminate an individual consumer’s right to pursue a separate private claim.