Microsoft class action alleges company violates consumers’ biometric privacy

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Microsoft Photos app BIPA class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: Pasinee Bhavilai filed a class action lawsuit against Microsoft Corp. 
• Why: Bhavilai claims Microsoft violates the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act by improperly collecting facial biometric data of users of its Photos app on Windows 10 and Windows 11 operating systems.
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Illinois circuit court. 

The Photos application on Microsoft’s Windows 10 and Windows 11 operating systems obtains the facial biometric data of Illinois residents without their consent, violating biometric privacy law, a new class action lawsuit alleges. 

Plaintiff Pasinee Bhavilai claims Microsoft fails to follow guidelines set by the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) while using facial recognition technology to capture the facial biometrics of Photos users. 

“While Defendant’s Photos application obtains the facial biometrics of Illinois residents such as Plaintiff from computers located in Illinois, Defendant has failed to comply with BIPA’s regulations and does not obtain individuals’ consent to gather their facial biometrics,” the Microsoft class action states. 

Microsoft class action alleges company fails to obtain users’ consent for data collection

Microsoft uses facial recognition technology to “determine whether there was a person in the image” and, if so, what the person was doing in it, according to the Microsoft class action. 

Bhavilai claims Microsoft violates BIPA by not informing Photos users in writing that it collects their biometric information and failing to receive written consent to do so. 

Further, Bhavilai claims Microsoft fails to inform users why it collects biometric information and publish a retention policy detailing how it plans to permanently destroy it. 

Bhavilai demands a jury trial and requests declaratory and injunctive relief along with statutory damages for himself and all class members. 

Bhavilai wants to represent an Illinois class of individuals who have had their biometric identifiers captured, stored, transmitted, collected, disseminated or otherwise used by Microsoft.

Consumers filed a similar class action lawsuit against Snap Inc. earlier this month over claims the company violates certain Snapchat users’ biometric privacy rights. 

Have you had your facial biometric collected by Microsoft while using its Photos app? Let us know in the comments. 

The plaintiff is represented by Timothy P. Kingsbury of McGuire Law P.C.

The Microsoft Photos App BIPA Class Action Lawsuit is Bhavilai v. Microsoft Corp., Case No. 2022-CH-04962, in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, Chancery Division.

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