Home Depot Latest to Be Accused of Violating Biometric Information Privacy Laws

Home Depot has been accused of violating Illinois’ biometric information privacy laws.

The state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act helps to protect residents’ personally identifying information, specifically finger and handprints, as well as facial features. Residents are provided numerous protections under existing biometric information privacy laws with regards to what they know about how the data is collected, used, and stored.

According to a proposed class action lawsuit recently filed in federal court in Georgia, Home Depot illegally tracked shoppers’ movements throughout 76 different Illinois stores by making use of a facial recognition surveillance system.

Four of the Illinois-based customers who brought the lawsuit argued that the home improvement company violated their rights and privacy under the Illinois state law known as the Biometric Information Privacy Act, also known as BIPA.

BIPA was enacted in 2008 due to concerns over how biometric data was being collected, stored, and destroyed. It required companies to comply with the various components of the statute or to face potential lawsuits.

If a resident of Illinois can show that a company violated BIPA, the law allows that individual to recover $1,000 per violation or $5,000 for each violation if the violation was reckless or intentional. Illinois was the first state to take steps to regulate biometric information collection, and many lawsuits have been filed as a result of the damages allowed under the law.

Companies and other entities must also securely store any biometric identifiers they collect and destroy them in a timely manner to protect this sensitive information. Due to the increase in the number of employers using biometric data for clocking in or other work purposes, employees have taken it upon themselves to hold their employers responsible for violations of BIPA. Several major companies have been hit with lawsuits over violations of Illinois’ biometric privacy act, including Hilton and Walmart.

That law requires companies and other entites to obtain informed consent before using, storing or collecting biometric details such as fingerprints. The Home Depot BIPA class action lawsuit alleges that the retailer has used in-store security cameras that track the individual movements of customers based on facial geometry.

The lawsuit states that the company is in violation of existing biometric privacy laws due to the use of this face print system because the company did not get permission from the shoppers to collect and use this information. The lawsuit further states that the company attempts to hide this practice from the general public.

The video footage allegedly scans a person’s face looking for particular data points that track the customer’s movement throughout the store. Some companies use similar technology for the purpose of loss prevention, enabling stores to follow customers and to identify potentially suspicious shopping activity. However, the customers in the lawsuit argue that the company does not make their biometric data retention schedule public and uses and collects these faceprints without getting proper consent from the customers.

The lawsuit is a proposed class action seeking to represent other Illinois shoppers who might have had their biometric information collected and used without their consent.

The Home Depot BIPA Lawsuit is Case No.1:19-cv-03970 in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia.

Join a Free Illinois Biometric Data Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you are a current or former resident of Illinois and had your biometric information scanned and stored without your consent while living in the state, you may qualify to join an Illinois biometric data privacy class action lawsuit investigation.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented 
for informational purposes only.