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United class action overview:
- Who: United Airlines has been hit with a class action lawsuit by a passenger.
- Why: The plaintiff claims United collected passengers’ facial scans without the proper consent required under Illinois law.
- Where: The United class action lawsuit was filed in an Illinois state court.
United Airlines violated Illinois law when it collected the facial data of passengers without getting the proper consent, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
Plaintiff Summer Doxie filed the class action lawsuit against United Airlines Inc. in an Illinois state court Nov. 22, alleging violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).
BIPA is an Illinois state law designed to protect the use of people’s biometric data, like facial geometry, voice prints or fingerprints.
According to the lawsuit, United Airlines uses kiosks to take photos of passengers and extract their facial geometry before they board flights. The kiosks allegedly use the photo to compare it to one the federal government has on file to verify the passengers’ identity, the complaint states.
Doxie says, under BIPA, United Airlines should have got written consent from passengers before extracting, using or storing their facial scans.
United Airlines does not adhere to Illinois privacy law, lawsuit alleges
Despite operating primarily out of Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, United Airlines fails to adhere to Illinois’ state biometric privacy law, the lawsuit states.
While it could disclose that the kiosks are collecting and using customer facial data to verify their identity, it does not, Doxie says. Meanwhile, passengers could have been choosing to verify their identity through conventional methods like showing their passport.
“United has (and still does) use traditional methods of verifying passenger identities, and such methods have not been onerous on defendant — it simply fails to tell passengers this is an option.”
Doxie is seeking to represent a class of passengers who had their faces scanned before boarding a flight operated by United Airlines at O’Hare.
She seeks $5,000 in damages for every willful or reckless violation, and $1,000 for every negligent violation, fees, costs and a jury trial.
In March, United Airlines was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging it wrongfully denied certain former employees access to its Frontline Voluntary Separation Leave program.
Did you have your facial data scanned by United Airlines? Let us know in the comments.
Doxie is represented by Carl V. Malstrom of Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP and Philip L. Fraietta, Alec M. Leslie, Max S. Roberts and Christopher R. Reilley of Bursor & Fisher PA.
The United BIPA class action lawsuit is Doxie, et al. v. United Airlines Inc., Case No. 2022-CH-11426, in the Circuit Court of Cook County.
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3 thoughts onUnited class action claims airline photo identification kiosks violate data privacy laws
i was forced at OHare United flight to Amsterdam flight to boarding into a line took took my picture before boarding (time was tight) and I never wanted and complained to United to remove my data multiple times – ignored
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