The early days of the COVID-19 pandemic were quite wild, and several companies decided to create their own face masks to combat the virus, including Razer, which released the Razer Zephyr face mask promising N95 protection and RGB lighting. However, allegations have surfaced that the mask was not N95 certified.

The Federal Trade Commission claims that Razer never submitted the Zephyr mask to the FDA or the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for formal testing. Nor has it ever sought permission to use the term N95 in its advertisements for "N95 equivalent" face masks.

In other words, not only could Zephyr not legally advertise as an N95 mask, but the FTC claims that Razer only stopped advertising Zephyr as N95 after negative press and consumer backlash.

The FTC is therefore asking Razer to refund $1.07 million to purchasers to make up for the fact that Razer falsely advertised the mask's effectiveness. The FTC also requires Razer to pay a $100,000 fine for "unsubstantiated health claims regarding protective health devices" and prohibits it from making "COVID-related health misrepresentations."

Razer denies all wrongdoing and claims it never intended to deceive anyone. However, the company chose to settle instead of fight, "to avoid the distraction and confusion of litigation." By doing so, the company can concentrate on what it does best: manufacturing peripherals for gamers, presumably those with large amounts of colored lights.

So let this be a lesson learned. But deviating from this is not something that can be done on a moment's notice. It doesn't matter if you build a ventilation fan instead of a car, or if you change direction from a glowing keyboard to a glowing face mask. It doesn't matter how well-intentioned the switch is, or whether it's for a quick cash grab. If you don't have expertise in a particular product, leave it to the experts.

You can't buy the Razer Zephyr anymore, but this is probably your best bet. It's a product you don't need to wear to walk around town. In fact, the only place where a light-up RGB breathing mask wouldn't look out of place would be at a cyberpunk rave.

And if you're looking to buy an N95 mask or respirator, do as I do and go to the hardware store. Thankfully, the days of panic buying masks are long gone, and they shouldn't be too hard to find.