Charles Schwab class action alleges company creates illegal biometric voice prints of callers

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Charles Schwab class action overview: 

• Who: A California man sued the Charles Schwab Corporation.
• Why: The plaintiff alleges the company illegally records and uses consumers’ biometric voice prints without their proper consent.
• Where: The Charles Schwab class action was filed in a California federal court.

The Charles Schwab Corporation illegally records and uses consumers’ biometric voice prints without their proper consent, a new class action lawsuit alleges.

Plaintiff Kirk Laughead filed the class action lawsuit against Charles Schwab Corporation Oct. 3 in a California federal court, alleging violations of the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA).

According to the lawsuit, Charles Schwab uses a system that enables it to examine the voice of anyone that calls to determine the truth or falsity of the callers’ statements. 

The system contains voice recognition software that creates a biometric voice print of each caller, and allows it to analyze the callers’ voice prints, the Charles Schwab class action states.

However, according to the lawsuit, Charles Schwab “did not obtain prior express written consent from Plaintiff or Class members to examine their voices or record their unique voice prints to determine the truth or falsity of their statements” in violation of the law.

Charles Schwab class action claims company secretly used voice ID service for years

Charles Schwab has a system called Schwab voice ID Service, the lawsuit says.

While the company claims that consumers must enroll in Schwab voice ID Service, Laughead alleges that it performs the same or similar voice examinations on anyone that calls the company.

“Plaintiff alleges that Defendant was secretly using Schwab voice ID Service technology for years prior to publishing its existence and seeking enrollment,” the Charles Schwab class action states.

The lawsuit also alleges that Charles Schwab does not obtain “express written consent” from callers before examining and analyzing their voices in violation of the law. 

“Even those that enroll in Schwab voice ID Service do it verbally over the phone, which does not satisfy the CIPA requirement of express written consent,” the Charles Schwab class action states.

Laughead looks to represent all residents of California that had their voice prints or other voice stress patterns examined or recorded by Charles Schwab to determine the truth or falsity of their statements.

He seeks damages of $1,000 per violation of Cal. Penal Code §637.3, certification of the class action, fees, costs and a jury trial.

Earlier this year, Charles Schwab Corp. agreed to pay $187 million as part of a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations that three robo-adviser subsidiaries misled clients about their investments.

Do you think Charles Schwab may have illegally used your voice print? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiff is represented by Joshua B. Swigart of Swigart Law Group and Daniel G. Shay of the Law Office of Daniel G. Shay.

The Charles Schwab class action lawsuit is Kirk Laughead, Case No. 3:22-cv-01498-AJB-JLB, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

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