Class Action Lawsuit Says Amazon Illegally Collected, Stored Illinois Employees’ Biometric Data Without Consent
Johnson v. Amazon.com Services, LLC
Filed: April 22, 2024 ◆§ 1:24-cv-03208
A proposed class action alleges Amazon.com Services has illegally collected, stored and shared Illinois employees’ facial scans without consent.
Illinois
A proposed class action alleges Amazon.com Services has illegally collected, stored and shared Illinois employees’ facial scans without consent.
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The 14-page privacy lawsuit was filed by an Amazon warehouse employee in Chicago who claims the company scanned her facial geometry using biometric-enabled software each time she clocked in or out of her shifts. The suit contends that Amazon has run afoul of Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by capturing, storing and disseminating to third-party vendors the plaintiff’s and other workers’ biometric data without first providing written notice and obtaining consent.
According to the case, the company has also violated the BIPA by failing to publish a written policy that provided details on how long the information would be retained and when it would be destroyed.
The complaint further charges that Amazon has failed to permanently delete the plaintiff’s biometric information as required under the BIPA, which stipulates that workers’ data should be destroyed after the initial purpose for collecting such identifiers has been satisfied.
The plaintiff claims she was never informed that Amazon was collecting and storing her facial geometry, nor did she at any time authorize the company to do so, the suit says.
The filing argues that the defendant’s allegedly improper conduct exposes its workers to grave privacy risks.
“For example, if Amazon.com Services’ database containing facial geometry scans or other sensitive, proprietary biometric data is hacked, breached, or otherwise exposed, [Amazon] employees have no means by which to prevent identity theft, unauthorized tracking or other unlawful or improper use of this highly personal and private information,” the case stresses.
The lawsuit looks to represent Illinois residents who had their biometric data collected by Amazon.com Services at any point in the past five years.
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