The National Trial Lawyers
  • Home
    • Meet Our Team
    • Contact Us
    • Mission & Goals
    • FAQ
  • Webinars
  • News
  • Membership Directory
    • Top 100 Map – Civil Plaintiff
    • Top 100 Map – Criminal Defense
    • Top 40 Under 40 Map – Civil Plaintiff
    • Top 40 Under 40 Map – Criminal Defense
  • Top 100
    • Civil Plaintiff Officers / Executive Committee
    • Criminal Defense Officers / Executive Committee
    • Benefits
    • About
    • Top 100 Presidents Message
    • Diplomat
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Top 100 Badge
  • Top 40
    • Civil Plaintiff Officers / Executive Committee
    • Criminal Defense Officers / Executive Committee
    • Top 40 Under 40 Trial Academy Bootcamp
    • Benefits
    • About
    • Top 40 Presidents Message
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Top 40 Badge
  • Specialty Assoc
    • About
    • Shop
    • Officers
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
  • Nominate
    • Top 100
    • Top 40
    • Specialty Association
    • Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame
    • Trial Lawyer of the Year
    • Trial Team of the Year
    • America’s Most Influential Trial Lawyer
    • America’s Most Influential Law Firm
    • Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Shop
  • Magazine
    • A-List
  • Education and Networking Agenda
    • Trial Lawyers Summit
    • Top 40 Under 40 Trial Academy Boot Camp
    • Mass Torts Made Perfect
    • The Lanier Trial Academy Master Class 6.0
    • The Business Of Law
    • Webinars
  • Hall of Fame
    • Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame

Facebook Facial Recognition Tag Suggestions May Violate Privacy Law

Posted on June 3, 2016 by Larry Bodine

facebook privacyFacebook must face a lawsuit against it that claims its photo-tagging system using facial recognition software to identifying users violates Illinois’s Biometric Information Privacy Act.

Chicago residents brought the lawsuit, which was transferred to a Northern California District Court at Facebook’s request, claiming Facebook collected biometric identifiers, such as faceprints, without consent and in violation of the Illinois law.

Facebook attempts to dismiss lawsuit

Facebook filed a motion for summary judgement and a motion to dismiss the case, arguing that its terms and conditions included a choice-of-law provision stipulating that claims against Facebook must be litigated in California under its law, and that the plaintiffs failed to state a claim under the Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).

The court agreed with Facebook, finding that the plaintiffs assented to the user agreements when they signed up for Facebook, and were provided notice of the updated user agreement containing the California choice-of-law provision.

However, in determining whether the California choice-of-law clause was enforceable, the court applied an enforceability test looking to whether California law on the issue is contrary to a fundamental policy and if Illinois had a “materially greater interest in the determination of the matter.

Illinois privacy law applies

The court, answering both questions in the affirmative, wrote that the BIPA “manifests Illinois’ substantial policy of protecting its citizens’ right to privacy in their personal biometric data.”

The court wrote that the BIPA is premised on concerns about the use of biologically unique identifiers that once compromised, “the individual has no recourse” and is at a heightened risk for identity theft.

The BIPA protects the privacy of individuals by requiring written policies on biometric data retention and informed consent before obtaining or disclosing personal biometric information.  The act also provides a private right of action for anyone whose privacy has been compromised.

See also: Facebook Tagging in Enough to Violate Restraining Order, Says NY Judge

The court wrote that Facebook attempted to “downplay the conflict as merely the loss of a claim,” but rejected the argument, writing that if its motion were granted, it would write the Illinois policy of protecting its citizen’s privacy interest “out of existence.”

Finding that Illinois would suffer a “complete negation of its biometric privacy protections for its citizens if California law were applied,” the court declined to enforce the California choice-of-law provision, denying Facebook’s motion for summary judgement.

User photos are biometric information

The court also denied Facebook’s motion to dismiss, which argued that the BIPA excludes photographs and any information derived from the photographs in its definitions of “biometric identifiers” and “biometric information.”

The court found the argument “unpersuasive” and refused to read the statute to exclude images and photographs from its scope.  The court wrote that such an exclusion would “substantially undercut” the BIPA because the analysis of biometric identifiers is usually based on an image or photograph.

The court allowed the Facebook users to proceed finding that they had a plausible claim that Facebook used its facial recognition technology without their consent, but no ruling was made on whether the technology violated BIPA.

 

The case is In re Facebook Biometric Information Privacy Litigation, Case number 3:15-cv-03747-JD, in the United States District Court Northern District of California.

 

Posted in Blog, Business Law, Class Actions

Comments are closed.

Recent Posts

Walgreens Agrees to a $105 Million Shareholders Settlement

Walgreens Agrees to a $105 Million Shareholders Settlement

June 27th, 2022

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (WBA.O) agreed to pay $105 million to settle a long-running class-action lawsuit accus[Read More...]
A Military Couple Reaches a $15 Million Settlement With Tripler Hospital Over Botched Delivery

A Military Couple Reaches a $15 Million Settlement With Tripler Hospital Over Botched Delivery

June 27th, 2022

A federal judge in Hawaii has approved a $15 million settlement for an Army couple whose son suffered brain damage from lack [Read More...]
Defrauded College Students Will Have $6 Billion Forgiven in a New Settlement

Defrauded College Students Will Have $6 Billion Forgiven in a New Settlement

June 24th, 2022

The Biden administration has agreed to cancel $6 billion in student loans for about 200,000 former students who say they were[Read More...]
An Iowa City Settles Lawsuit Over a Deadly Police Shooting For $5 Million

An Iowa City Settles Lawsuit Over a Deadly Police Shooting For $5 Million

June 24th, 2022

Burlington, Iowa, has agreed to pay $5 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the mother of a man who was shot[Read More...]
Co-Owners File a $695 Million Lawsuit Against Georgia Power Over a Contract Dispute

Co-Owners File a $695 Million Lawsuit Against Georgia Power Over a Contract Dispute

June 22nd, 2022

The owners of a majority share of a nuclear power plant being expanded in Georgia are suing lead owner Georgia Power Co., cla[Read More...]

Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

Attorney information and content provided on this website is provided for the benefit of members of The National Trial Lawyers and as a public service by Legal Associations Management, Inc. The website and all data are the property of Legal Associations Management, Inc. Data, including without limitation attorney information and content, on the site may not be mined, sold, or used commercially for any purpose without the explicit written consent of Legal Associations Management, Inc. This site may not be accessed by any automated program for extracting data for any use. By accessing and using the site you agree that you will not develop, support or use software, devices, scripts, robots, or any other means or processes (including crawlers, browser plug-ins and add-ons, or any other technology) to scrape data or otherwise copy profiles and other data. Unauthorized use or attempted unauthorized use of this system may subject you to both civil and criminal penalties.