The Disturbing Reason Facebook Is Paying People $397
Facebook has been forced to pay between $200 and $400 to more than 1.5 million people, and that number could increase in the future. The payout is the result of a seven-year-long, $650 million dollar lawsuit that was filed in the state of Illinois. Several of Facebook's features, including the "tag suggestions" feature, had allegedly violated the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act. The lawsuit's administrators say Facebook stored its users' biometric data without giving users proper notice and gaining consent. The data was used to power features containing facial recognition technology, including one that suggested people who could be tagged in photos users uploaded.
The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, which has been described by some law firms as offering among the strongest protections of biometric data in the nation, came into force in 2008. The law sets out a number of rules relating to the collection and storage of biometric data, including consent requirements and a right to disclosure. It also prohibits profiting from the collection and use of biometric data.
Full and part-time Illinois residents who had a "face template" created and stored by Facebook after June 7, 2011, are considered part of the "class" and were eligible to claim part of the settlement. Some Illinois residents have already received checks while other members of the lawsuit's class should receive theirs over the coming weeks. The deadline to file a claim for part of this settlement passed on November 11, 2020.
More lawsuits are on the horizon
CNBC also highlights that similar lawsuits have been filed in Illinois against Google Photos and Shutterfly. The report also points out that food chain Pret A Manger settled a lawsuit filed by employees whose fingerprints had reportedly been stored by the company for $677 million, and claims experts say more privacy lawsuits are on the horizon.
Beyond Illinois, Texas and Washington have similar privacy laws regarding biometric data and could be grounds for more lawsuits in the future. California, Colorado, and Virginia are also set to enact strong data privacy laws in 2023.
However, privacy law professor Matthew Kugler speculates it could be a while before we see lawsuits on a national level. Speaking to CNBC, he suggested that lawsuits would be confined to the state level for the foreseeable future as it could be a while before there is "any consensus" on federal legislation. Kugler does predict the number of state-level lawsuits will increase "now that people know you can make money on it."