Google-owned Fitbit to pay $12.2 million after consumers were burned by smartwatches

More than two years after recalling about 1.7 million Ionic smartwatches sold globally, Google-owned Fitbit will pay a $12.2 million penalty for failing to alert consumers that the products can overheat and cause burns, federal regulators said Thursday.

Fitbit received numerous reports of the lithium-ion batteries in the watches overheating during 2018, 2019 and continuing into 2020, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). In early 2020, Fitbit made an update to address the defect, but continued to hear from people suffering burns and did not report the issue to regulators as legally required. 

“While health-conscious people wore Fitbit Ionic smartwatches to track their fitness, they had no idea that the watches were putting their safety at risk. They didn’t know about the hazard because Fitbit said nothing,” CPSC Commissioner Rich Trumka Jr. said Thursday in a statement. 

The CPSC and Fitbit announced a recall of the Ionic smartwatches in March of 2020, saying the company had received 115 reports in the U.S. of the batteries in the devices overheating. Domestic customers reported 78 burn injuries, two involving third-degree burns and four of second-degree burns; another 40 incidents were reported internationally. 

Fitbit discontinued production of its Ionic model, which was used to track activity, heart rate and sleep, in 2020.

“Customer safety continues to be our top priority, and we’re pleased to resolve this matter with the CPSC stemming from the 2022 voluntary recall of Fitbit Ionic,” said a spokesperson for Google, which purchased Fitbit for $2.1 billion in 2019.

About 1 million of the recalled smartwatches were sold in the U.S. at retailers including Best Buy, Kohl’s and Target, as well as online at Amazon.com and Fitbit.com from September 2017 through December 2021. The products retailed for between $200 and $330 each. Another 693,000 were sold internationally, according to the company.

The 2020 recall came eight years after Fitbit recalled its Fitbit Force activity-tracking wristband after the company received roughly 9,900 reports of the wristband irritating skin and 250 reports of blistering. 

In addition to the $12.25 million civil penalty, the settlement agreement requires Fitbit to maintain internal controls and procedures to ensure compliance with the Consumer Product Safety Act. The company also agreed to submit an annual report regarding its compliance program and internal controls, the CPSC stated.