Verizon class action claims co. collects customer voiceprints through Voice ID

Verizon class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: Plaintiffs Thelton George Parker Jr. and Steven Doyle filed a class action lawsuit against Verizon Wireless.
• Why: Verizon Voice ID allegedly captures and stores customer voice prints without providing adequate disclosures and obtaining consent as required by the Illinois Biometric Privacy Act.
• Where: The Verizon class action lawsuit was filed in Illinois federal court.

A new Verizon class action lawsuit alleges the company fails to obtain informed written consent prior to collecting customers’ voiceprints in violation of Illinois law.

Plaintiffs Thelton George Parker Jr. and Steven Doyle explain in their lawsuit that voiceprints are “a unique and distinctive pattern of certain voice characteristics that are used to identify a person.”

Voiceprints are considered a “biometric identifier” under the Illinois Biometric Privacy Act (BIPA), according to the Verizon class action lawsuit.

The Illinois legislature recognized biometric data as a type of identifier requiring special protection under the law. Unlike Social Security or driver’s license numbers, biometric data cannot be changed when compromised.

Many companies use customers’ biometric data for identification and authentication. BIPA does not prohibit companies from using this information in this manner, but the law requires companies to provide customers with certain disclosures and obtain their consent prior to collecting and storing their biometric data.

Verizon Voice ID captures consumers voiceprints to help authenticate their accounts. However, the plaintiffs assert Verizon does not comply with BIPA requirements before capturing customers’ voiceprints.

Verizon Voice ID fails to comply with Illinois biometrics law, plaintiffs claim

The Verizon Voice ID class action lawsuit says companies cannot obtain an individual’s biometrics without first informing the person in writing that biometrics will be collected or stored; informing them of the specific purpose and length of time for which the data will be collected, stored and used and obtaining written consent from the individual authorizing the collection of their biometrics.

Parker and Doyle allege the defendants failed to inform Verizon Voice ID users their biometric information would be collected or stored, how their information would be used or how long their information would be stored. They also allegedly never obtained informed, written consent from consumers before collecting their voiceprints.

Verizon was recently hit with a separate class action lawsuit alleging its website is not fully accessible to blind and visually-impaired individuals.

Do you use Verizon Voice ID? Tell us what you think of the allegations in this Verizon class action lawsuit.

The plaintiffs are represented by Jon Loevy, Michael Kanovitz and Thomas M. Hanson of Loevy & Loevy, Brian Levin and Brandon T. Grzandziel of Levin Law PA and Jeffrey B. Kaplan and Alexander M. Peraza of Dimond Kaplan & Rothstein PA.

The Verizon Voice ID class action lawsuit is Thelton George Parker Jr., et al. v. Verizon Communications Inc., et al., Case No. 1:24-cv-08436, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.

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