Convergint Refuses To Fix Faked Fever Marketing, FTC Complaint Filed
By Conor Healy and John Honovich, Published Jun 19, 2020, 09:13am EDTSince Convergint has refused to fix their faked fever camera marketing, IPVM has filed a complaint with the US Federal Trade Commission which regulates false advertising.
While Convergint claim to be 'thermal camera solutions experts' in response to surging demand for COVID-19 elevated temperature alerting, Convergint has run faked marketing.
Convergint is aware of the world IEC standards and FDA guidelines for the correct operation of such systems but is using this faked marketing to gain an unfair competitive advantage. Below represents what the FDA has defined as the correct operation in contrast to Convergint's marketing:
FTC Rules on False Advertising
As 15 US Code § 55 (FTC) and this FTC advertising guidance defines truth-in-advertising, e.g.:
1) "Advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive"
2) "Advertisers must have evidence to back up their claims".
FTC Complaint Submitted
Since Convergint refuses to fix the obviously faked marketing, IPVM has filed a complaint with the FTC, copied below:
This complaint is on behalf IP Video Market Info (IPVM). We are an authority on the video surveillance industry; in addition to reporting and research, our specialists conduct exhaustive independent product testing in our 12,000 sq ft facility in Bethlehem, PA. Among our areas of subject-matter expertise are thermographic systems, also called fever cameras, thermal cameras or temperature screening cameras. This complaint pertains to the main image for the page at the following link, published on May 27, 2020: https://www.convergint.com/
thermal-camera-solution- experts/. It depicts 8 individuals engaged in everyday activities as their body temperatures are measured by a thermal camera. This is a blatantly deceptive depiction by Convergint Technologies, a seller of these systems. Per official FDA and IEC guidelines, and our own testing, thermographic systems can only take body temperatures under narrow, carefully-controlled conditions. The image represents circumstances definitively beyond what is possible. No existing system can: 1) measure the temperatures of multiple individuals simultaneously; 2) interpret an individual’s body temperature from areas other than the face; 3) measure an individual’s temperature if they are not stationary, and facing the camera with their face uncovered 4) measure an individual tying their shoes, as Convergint demonstrates and 5) with their back to the camera, as Convergint demonstrates. The image deceptively implies that body temperature measurement is possible in all of these scenarios. Note, in particular, the outlandish impression given by the two individuals facing away from the camera on the right-hand side. This image will mislead a reasonable consumer about the capabilities of products in ways that are material to their decision to buy. Furthermore, since they are impossible, it is fair to assume that Convergint has no prior evidence of any of the aforementioned implied capabilities. We believe that misrepresentations like this are a matter of public urgency. Facilities worldwide are under pressure to implement minimally disruptive COVID-19 screening. The false representations of this image may induce buyers to make misinformed decisions about what they buy and how they use it, posing a threat not just to balance sheets, but to public health. We contacted Convergint to share these concerns but the company did not respond.
If or when the FTC or Convergint responds, we will update our reporting accordingly.
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Comments (16)
Good for you! Another step in holding the industry accountable.
Unpopular Opinion ... The security industry should not be the "guardian" of this technology. We have integrators pushing these out to companies at an amazing rate but frankly neither the integrators or the company have a clue about human physiology. We are security people. Wild claims lead to bad results and there have been some wild claims !!
I guess the question is if it is better than nothing as sadly, the medical and scientific community does not appear to be stepping up ... There is huge opportunity for this technology and I would be excited to read about AI, medical and physics companies pushing the boundaries and developing a low cost medical instrument (oxymoron!).
rbl
| 06/19/20 04:02pm
The security industry should not be the "guardian" of this technology.
Agreed, the problem is that it starts at the top. There are security manufacturers with no clue about how to properly implement any kind of radiometrics solution that are pushing products into the security channel.
"I guess the question is if it is better than nothing as sadly" at best maybe, or much like requiring people to wear cloth masks that do nothing to prevent the spread of the disease it provides a false sense of security that may actually be worse as people let their guard down. I recently received a flyer from a large IT VAR with a picture of a long hallway showing it taking temp readings of the backs of peoples heads over 50 feet away through their hair. If I see that and feel like I can throw up a $10K camera and get accurate readings based on blatantly false advertising and I can stop doing screenings and actual temperate checks, it makes the problem worse.
I agree that there's a huge opportunity for this type of devices, but the hype just doesn't live up to reality yet and that may indeed be because of security manufactures and integrators are trying to jump into a medical device market without the required expertise.
I am not wearing a mask until they start handing out violations.
Did the public wear condoms to protect themselves from aids? Kids were born infected and many unscathed do to chance.
So now we wear masks? We jump up and down in front of thermal fever cameras on silly rabbit zoomscapes?
There is no argument here or on any media platform, unless you want to argue for the sake of.
The best Science we can do medically, chemically and mathematically needs to be done by those honed to those particular disciplines. REAL DATA is needed, not sub-par mediocre opinions of the internet and its many viral click bait traps, reddit trolls or oversized undisclosed minds with the urge to just let one rip.
Yes we can err on the side of caution and ask, has the 1st wave mutated? No they claim just another wave at the moment(2nd, 3rd?..LOOP?). Are more people wearing masks to stop the spread? Well all those hikvision employees have worn masks at those tasty night markets since SARS and where are they now? If this pandemic was truly GLOBAL where is UNITY that should spring forth to combat the threat? NULL!
All sorts of disease kill, some infections are terminal however why is it 1/2 past the monkeys ass in 2020 that AMERICA finally gets it? All the media can come up with is mandatory masks? fever cams? 2nd wave, damn is this diarrhea?
Balderdash!, You cannot simply call something something and then say it is something!
If Covid is real or fake and if a vaccine is created that is real or fake....WHAT HAPPENS TO ALL THE PSYCHIATRIC DESTRUCTION done to our way of life, our way of progression and our right to live due to all this paranoia induced mind rot(who will save our consciousness)? Seriously....is the sky falling and people are dying left and right? Where is the smoking gun that shows an ENTIRE town in the good ole USA simply dying off to Covid overnight in the OMG 2nd wave? Show that kind of data and we have an epidemic on our hands.
Last note: It is phucking unfortunate I am surrounded by dip effing craps that consist of a weak animal running off their High School OS or Community College OS and can barely handle truth and experimentation to proof the logic of the fragile with the hopes of the greedy. Fueled by their religious OS and fear, emotions scale to imminent levels and distort logic. AKA, your massk is on too tight.
So, lets wear a mask. Life is good. I am all for it yet keep in mind. I EXPECT TO SEE ALL AIRBORNE DISEASES REGRESS SUBSTANTIALLY, IF THEY DO NOT....I/YOU/US/WE must call Bullshit!. Cryptic: Right now is the time for some to buy high and sell low when it comes time to survive, "Why you no have!".
Tick tock, tick tock....gather around the map reader...reach out! feel the force! - Yoda
Since you brought it up. Wearing a cloth mask some one made out of random material that probably doesn't fit properly and you probably don't wear properly to prevent the spread of an airborne virus is like wearing a sock to prevent pregnancy because we have a condom shortage. You might argue that it's better than nothing and you keep using it because you believe it's working and then bam, she's pregnant. Then you find out socks were never tested as an effective birth control method and you had a false sense of security this whole time.
Back on topic, it's the same as Fever Camera's. All these manufacturers are selling a product that hasn't been proven to be effective in the real world to capture everyone's fear based spending. There's no proof they're accurate enough to actually do any good, and actually tests here show the opposite. Yet they are making baseless and deceptive marketing claims about how effective they are. Some people will claim they are better than nothing or their the first line of defense, but not if they are installed improperly or just ineffective, and they take the place of actual effective measures.
WHAT?? Socks don't work? Damn, I thought I had a use for all the single socks in my drawer that were orphaned in the laundry.
Now that we are month in the future since your post and considering developments since then, all logic points to you and people like you as the cause of death, suffering, and economic disparity because you don't wear a mask in public and generally having the "Plandemic" conspiracy delusion. Your psychosis is a far more dangerous disease than COVID-19.
