Amazon, Target, others face class action lawsuits over biometric privacy violations

Biometric privacy class action lawsuits overview: 

• Who: Consumers recently filed class action lawsuits against Amazon.com Services, Target Corp., Wingstop, Domino’s Pizza and ConverseNow Technologies. 
• Why: The class action lawsuits claim the companies violated Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act. 
• Where: The class action lawsuits were filed in Illinois. 

Consumers filed several class action lawsuits against companies accused of violating Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by the way they collected the biometric data of their customers and or employees. 

The class action lawsuits claim the companies violated BIPA by not obtaining consent and scheduling the destruction for captured biometric identifiers, among other things. 

In addition to the complaints, companies in the railroad transportation and sustainable consumer packaging industries individually agreed to class action settlements to end claims they violated BIPA.

Amazon timecard facial recognition software violates BIPA, class action says 

A consumer filed a class action lawsuit against Amazon.com Services last month over claims the company violated BIPA with facial recognition software for its timecards. 

The class action lawsuit claims Amazon failed to obtain proper authorization prior to retaining the biometric information and did not schedule the destruction of biometric identifiers. 

“Plaintiff was simply instructed to input and allow her facial geometry to be scanned as part of her overall onboarding and continual timesheet verification for Amazon.com Services,” the class action states. 

Target used cameras to unlawfully collect customers’ biometric data, class action claims 

A consumer filed a class action lawsuit against Target Corp. in April over claims the company unlawfully collected the biometric data of its Illinois customers. 

The class action lawsuit claims Target used cameras and advanced surveillance systems to “surreptitiously collect, possess or otherwise obtain” its customers’ biometric data without their consent and in violation of BIPA. 

“Target’s practice of collecting, storing, and using individuals’ biometric data without obtaining informed written consent violates all three prongs of … BIPA,” the Target class action states. 

Class actions claim Wingstop, Domino’s Pizza used AI to record customers’ voiceprints

A consumer filed a class action lawsuit against Wingstop and ConverseNow Technologies in March over claims the former used the latter to record its customers’ voice orders without their permission and in violation of BIPA.  

The class action lawsuit claims at least 60 Wingstop restaurants in Illinois use artificial intelligence belonging to ConverseNow to record caller voiceprints during their phone orders without their knowledge or consent. 

“Unbeknownst to Illinois customers, through the use of ConverseNow’s voice AI technology, defendants are collecting, capturing, otherwise obtaining, using and/or storing customers’ voiceprints, biometric identifiers and/or biometric information,” the Wingstop class action states. 

A group of four consumers filed a similar class action lawsuit against Domino’s Pizza Inc. and ConverseNow in March over claims the companies unlawfully recorded the voiceprints of the former’s customers during phone orders. 

BNSF to pay $75M over claims it violated BIPA when collecting truckers’ fingerprints

BNSF Railway Co. agreed to pay $75 million in March to end claims the company violated BIPA with the way it collected the fingerprints of truckers at its auto-gate system in Illinois. 

The settlement will benefit a class of truckers who registered their fingerprints with an auto-gate system at any BNSF Railway Co. facility in Illinois between April 4, 2014, and March 5, 2024. 

The class action lawsuit claimed BNSF Railway failed to provide specific disclosures or obtain written consent prior to collecting the truckers’ fingerprints. 

Graphic Packaging International to pay nearly $1M over BIPA claims 

Graphic Packaging International agreed to pay more than $997,000 in March to end claims the company violated BIPA by making its employees use hand-scan time clocks. 

The settlement will benefit a class of individuals who used a Hand Punch 4000 terminal at the company’s Centralia, Illinois, facility between June 29, 2016, and Sept. 1, 2021. 

The class action lawsuit claimed Graphic Packaging International violated BIPA by failing to obtain written consent prior to collecting employee hand scans and by failing to implement and adhere to a written policy for the destruction of the biometric data. 

Has a company collected your biometric data without your consent? Let us know in the comments.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• TJX class action claims company embeds hidden spy pixel trackers in emails
• New GM driver data class action filed over alleged info sharing with insurers
• Buzzfeed class action alleges website installs trackers on visitors’ browsers
• AmEx class action claims company shares credit card applicant data with Facebook