Speedway, Wow Bao Face Biometric Privacy Class Action Lawsuits

A restaurant chain and gas station have been hit with class actions alleging they violated the Illinois biometric privacy laws by using customers’ facial features and employees’ fingerprints.

Two class actions were filed. One of the lead plaintiffs, Regina Morris, alleges that Wow Bao eatery violated consumer rights under the Illinois biometric privacy law by using facial biometrics without obtaining consent.

The other plaintiff, Christopher Howe, alleges in his class action that the Speedway chain of gas stations illegally collects employees’ fingerprints.

The plaintiffs each claim that their rights under the Illinois Biometric Privacy laws have been violated because the companies failed to meet the notification and consent requirements under those laws. Specifically, say the plaintiffs, the companies did not provide a written notice about the specific purpose of collecting biometric information from consumers, nor did they tell consumers how long they would retain the information.

According to the class actions, companies are further obligated to obtain written consent from those they wish to collect biometric data from, provide the public with information about how long they will store the information and how it will be destroyed.

“Although there may be benefits to using biometric mechanisms, there are also serious risks,” alleges the complaint against Wow Bao. “Unlike other private information such as a Social Security number — which can be changed or replaced if stolen or compromised — biometrics are unique, permanent biometric identifiers associated with each individual customer.”

The Wow Bao class action lawsuit alleges that the restaurant failed to update its policies and practices surrounding the collection of biometric information after the Illinois legislature passed the biometrics law in 2008.

The complaint also alleges that the company ignored important concerns about the safety and security of collecting and retaining this information after Pay By Touch, a company that used facial biometrics to verify payment, went bankrupt in 2007.

“That bankruptcy spurred Illinois citizens and legislators into realizing that it is crucial for individuals to understand when providing biometric identifiers who exactly is collecting their biometric data, where it will be transmitted and for what purposes, and for how long,” alleges the Wow Bao plaintiff in her class action. “Defendants disregard these obligations and instead unlawfully collect, store and use their customers’ biometric identifiers and information, without ever receiving the individual’s informed written consent required by BIPA.”

The Speedway class action lawsuit alleges that the chain of gas stations collect and retain employees’ fingerprints for their clock-in system, but never tells its employees why or for how long it will store their fingerprints.

“Because Speedway neither publishes a BIPA ­mandated data retention policy nor discloses the purposes for its collection of biometric data, Speedway employees have no idea whether Speedway sells, discloses, re­discloses or otherwise disseminates their biometric data,” alleges the plaintiff. “Nor are plaintiff and the putative class told to whom Speedway currently disclose their biometric data, or what might happen to their biometric data in the event of a merger or a bankruptcy.”

Both plaintiffs are seeking damages under the biometrics statute that slap companies with either a $5,000 fine for each willful or reckless violation of the law or a $1,000 fine for each negligent violation. The plaintiffs also want a court order requiring the companies to comply with the parameters of the Illinois biometric privacy laws.

The lead plaintiffs in both cases are represented by Ryan F. Stephan, James B. Zouras, Andrew C. Ficzko and Haley R. Jenkins of Stephan Zouras LLP.

The Speedway Biometrics Class Action Lawsuit is Howe v. Speedway LLC et al., Case No. 2017­-CH-­11992; the Wow Bao Biometrics Class Action Lawsuit is Morris v. Wow Bao LLC, Case No. 2017­-CH­-12029, both in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois.