Class Action Claims T. Rowe Price Unlawfully Analyzes Callers’ Voices Without Consent

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A proposed class action claims T. Rowe Price Retirement Plan Services has failed to obtain callers’ consent before using voice recognition software to capture their biometric voice prints.

The 12-page suit alleges that T. Rowe Price, who provides retirement services, deploys this system to “authenticate or refute the true identity of callers” and examine the honesty of their statements.

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According to the filing, T. Rowe Price has violated the California Invasion of Privacy Act by utilizing a device that examines or records individuals’ voice prints or voice stress patterns to “determine the truth or falsity of statements made by such person” without securing their express written consent.

The complaint alleges that T. Rowe Price creates a unique voice print for each caller from a recording of their initial call and stores it in a database for reference during subsequent calls.

“Creating a voice print requires extracting an individual’s phonetic features (including their unique speech patterns, tones, and other characteristics) from their voice,” the complaint says. “As such, a voice print serves as an audible ‘fingerprint’ which can directly identify an individual and can even reveal the speaker’s behavioral traits.”

As the case tells it, T. Rowe Price’s system examines a caller’s speech patterns to detect audible indications of lying, such as changes in breathing, repeating words or phrases, difficulty speaking or using odd inflections.

The security section of the company’s website admits that it uses “Voice Biometrics” to verify the identity of callers as they engage with the call center, but T. Rowe Price fails to obtain express written permission before scrutinizing the authenticity of California residents’ voices, the filing contends.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in California who had their voice prints or other voice stress patterns examined or recorded by T. Rowe Price Retirement Plan Services to determine the truth or falsity of their statements.

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