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Pearson Education Biometrics Class Action Lawsuit Overview:
- Why: The customer alleges Pearson did not obtain proper consent or provide disclosures regarding its collection and usage of customers’ biometric data.
- Who: Pearson Education has been sued in a class action lawsuit by a test taking customer.
- Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. Circuit Court of Cook County.
Pearson Education Inc. faces a class action lawsuit over its vein-print scans at its testing locations. The complaint alleges Pearson failed to obtain written consent from or provide proper disclosures to customers regarding its biometric collection as is required by Illinois law.
When Tammy Velazquez took the Massage & Bodywork Licensing Examination at a Pearson Education testing location in Illinois in 2021, she had to provide her hand to be scanned as part of her intake process. Velazquez was allegedly told her vein-print scans were necessary for security purposes.
However, Velazquez says that she did not provide written consent to Pearson for her biometric collection, as is required by the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). Pearson has also allegedly failed to release a publicly available policy regarding its retention and deletion practices regarding the biometrics it collects.
Due to Pearson’s failures, Velazquez maintains that she still does not know whether the company still holds her biometrics, what her biometrics are being used for and how long the company might hold them for.
Velazquez seeks to represent a class that includes all individuals whose biometrics were captured, collected, stored, used, transmitted or disseminated by or on behalf of Pearson Education within the state of Illinois at any time within the applicable limitations period.
Pearson’s Failures Risk Customers’ Identity Theft, Complaint Claims
Pearson uses its vein-print scanners as part of its efforts to connect the identities of the individuals who appear at testing centers with the person who registered for the test, according to the complaint. These hand vein prints are then converted to an electronic format to store the biometric data on the device and to transmit the data to third-party data storage and identity verification vendors.
However, the complaint claims that in addition to failing to obtain customer consent and provide disclosures, Pearson failed to inform customers about its dissemination of their biometric data to such third parties. Such disclosure is also required by BIPA
Velazquez claims that she and members of the proposed class have suffered a concrete injury stemming from their biometrics being collected, shared and used for profit without their consent or knowledge. The sharing of inalterable information also puts class members at higher risk of fraud and/or identity theft.
Velazquez seeks injunctive and equitable relief requiring Pearson to comply with BIPA, a declaration that Pearson violated BIPA, statutory damages of $5,000 for each willful and/or reckless violation of BIPA, statutory damages of $1,000 for each negligent violation of BIPA, pre- and post-judgment interest and attorneys’ costs.
Have you had your biometric data taken and stored without your permission? Tell us about it in the comments section below!
The plaintiff is represented by Eugene Y. Turin and Timothy P. Kingsbury of Mcguire Law, P.C.
The Pearson Education Biometrics Class Action Lawsuit is Velazquez v. Pearson Education Inc., Case No. 2022CH00280, in the U.S. Circuit Court of Cook County.
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