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A proposed class action lawsuit filed Wednesday, June 17 claims the popular online photo book designer Shutterfly Inc. and its subsidiary ThisLife LLC have violated Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act by using recognition technology to create and store millions of facial templates without the permission of non-members.
Lead plaintiff Brian Norberg of Illinois claims that he is not a Shutterfly member, yet when a Shutterfly user uploaded a picture of Norberg, the online photo company scanned and analyzed his face using biometric identifiers and asked the user to “tag” the plaintiff’s face. The Shutterfly class action lawsuit claims Norberg’s face template was then stored in Shutterfly’s database and prompted the Shutterfly member to “tag” all other previously uploaded photos of Norberg once it created his face template.
Norberg states that he never gave permission to Shutterfly to collect his biometric identifiers which include the “geometric data relating to the unique contours of his face and the distances between his eyes, nose and ears” nor did he consent to have the online company store his facial template.
The Shutterfly class action lawsuit claims that most consumers are not aware that these practices are a direct violation of the Biometric Information Privacy Act of Illinois. According to the BIPA, it is an illegal practice for collect or otherwise obtain an individual’s biometric identifiers unless the company informs the subject in writing that the biometric information is being collected, stored, gives the specific purpose and the length of time it will be used.
According to the biometric data class action lawsuit, Shutterfly claimed that as of 2013, 20 billion photos were stored in their database and they use facial recognition technology to identify people in those photos by way of “photo ranking algorithms.” The Shutterfly lawsuit further alleges that the subsidiary ThisLife photo storage claims they “make face tagging quick and easy with our facial recognition (technology).”
This Shutterfly class action lawsuit comes just one month after a second similar biometric data class action lawsuit was filed against social media giant Facebook. According to the Facebook class action lawsuits, the facial recognition technology they use for photo tagging may also be violating Illinois’ state law since the plaintiffs claim the company collects biometric information without consent.
If the Shutterfly biometric data class action lawsuit is approved, lead plaintiff Norberg would ask that potential Class Members receive $5,000 for each intentional or reckless BIPA violation and $1,000 for each negligent violation. Class Members would be classified as a non-member of Shutterfly who while residing in the state of Illinois had their face template collected, captured, received or otherwise obtained by Shutterfly. Norberg expects this class could easily exceed tens of thousands of individuals.
Norberg is represented by David P. Milian and Frank S. Hedin of Carey Rodriguez O’Keefe Milian Gonya LLP and Katrina Carroll of Lite DePalma Greenberg LLC.
The Shutterfly Biometric Data Class Action Lawsuit is Brian Norberg v. Shutterfly Inc., et al., Case No. 1:15-cv-05351, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
UPDATE: On Feb. 1, 2016, Shutterfly asked a federal judge to reconsider dismissing the class action lawsuit by citing a recent decision to dismiss a Facebook class action lawsuit that alleged very similar claims.
UPDATE 2: On Mar. 10, 2016, Shutterfly filed a motion asking the court to compel arbitration in this class action lawsuit after an investigation found that the unidentified Shutterfly user who uploaded the photos online is the plaintiff’s wife.
UPDATE 3: On Mar. 16, 2016, Shutterfly asked that a federal court judge issue a stay on this proposed class action lawsuit until it rules on its recent request for the judge to compel arbitration.
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5 thoughts onShutterfly Class Action Lawsuit Claims ‘Tags’ Violate Privacy
I need to be added to your list
UPDATE 3: On Mar. 16, 2016, Shutterfly asked that a federal court judge issue a stay on this proposed class action lawsuit until it rules on its recent request for the judge to compel arbitration.
UPDATE 2: On Mar. 10, 2016, Shutterfly filed a motion asking the court to compel arbitration in this class action lawsuit after an investigation found that the unidentified Shutterfly user who uploaded the photos online is the plaintiff’s wife.
UPDATE: On Feb. 1, 2016, Shutterfly asked a federal judge to reconsider dismissing the class action lawsuit by citing a recent decision to dismiss a Facebook class action lawsuit that alleged very similar claims.
Sad to hear about it