Motorola Class Action Says 18M Mugshots Collected, Sold

Illinois residents claim that Motorola and Vigilant Solutions illegally collected and sold more than 18 million facial geometric scans generated from mugshots.

The plaintiffs say that their facial geometric scans, or facial scans, that can be used to identify them, much like a fingerprint, were collected from their mugshots then stored and sold by the two companies.

The Motorola class action claims that, as residents of Illinois, this information is entitled to a greater degree of protection than is honored by the defendants.

Illinois residents enjoy additional protection of their biometric information under the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).

Under the BIPA, a person must be notified and give consent for the collection and storage of their biometric information. Biometric information includes finger and palm prints, as well as facial scans, note the plaintiffs.

Motorola and Vigilant captured and maintained a “gallery” of “mugshots” or photos taken of people as they are booked into jail, alleges the class action lawsuit.

Further, the companies reportedly extracted facial biometrics from these photos. According to the complaint, many of those whose photos are included in these mugshot galleries are innocent Illinois residents who never consented to the collection and use of this information.

“In particular, Defendants performed a scan of the facial geometry of each depicted individual, stored the resultant biometric identifiers and information in a proprietary database […] and disclosed, redisclosed, and otherwise disseminated those biometric identifiers and information to third parties in order to profit,” states the Motorola class action lawsuit.

The plaintiffs say that Motorola and Vigilant further violated the BIPA by failing to adopt a policy about the retention and destruction of the information in their Biometric Database, nor did they make this policy public, as required under the law.

According to the Motorola class action lawsuit, the companies turn around and sell this biometric data to law enforcement agencies across the nation.

“Defendants also incorporate the Biometric Database into their other facial recognition products thereby allowing the identification and tracking in real time and near-real time of millions of people—including Plaintiff and Class Members— wherever they may go,” states the complaint.

The Motorola class action lawsuit points out that those included in the Biometric Database, who have their information sold and identities tracked, “merely had to have been arrested.” Motorola and Vigilant allegedly do not track the result of that person’s arrest. Some, are found innocent or their arrest made in error and expunged from their record, the plaintiffs claim.

“As a direct result of Defendants’ actions, Plaintiffs’ and Class Members’ biometric identifiers and information are no longer under their control and are now available to a potentially unlimited range of unknown individuals—both employees and clients of Defendants—who can surveil Plaintiffs and Class Members now and in the future,” contends the complaint.

Are you worried your facial scan has been stored from a mugshot? Tell us about it in the comment section!

The plaintiffs and proposed Class Members are represented by Arthur Loevy, Michael Kanovitz, Jon Loevy, and Scott R. Drury of Loevy & Loevy.

The Motorola Class Action Lawsuit is Flores, et al. v. Motorola Solutions Inc., et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-01128, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.

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