GradImages Hit with BIPA Class Action in Illinois Over Allegedly Unlawfully Use of Graduates’ Facial Scans

New to ClassAction.org? Read our Newswire Disclaimer

The operators of GradImages face a proposed class action that alleges the commencement photography business illegally collects, stores and profits from the use of Illinois consumers’ biometric facial data without consent.

Want to stay in the loop on class actions that matter to you? Sign up for ClassAction.org’s free weekly newsletter here.

The 20-page lawsuit claims defendants Balfour, Commemorative Brands Illinois LLC and Iconic Group, Inc. have run afoul of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by failing to inform or receive permission from Illinois residents before extracting their faceprints from PR images taken before or after their graduation ceremonies. 

The case explains that, as part of GradImages’ business, photographers take pictures of graduates walking across the stage to receive a diploma so that the company is able to associate an individual’s face with their name. GradImages then employs facial recognition software to extract the unique geometry of the graduate’s face (known as a faceprint) and uses this data to find their matching facial images in PR photos taken during the event, the suit says.

GradImages then solicits the graduate via email to purchase print or digital copies of the photographs, the complaint relays.

Under the BIPA, private entities are prohibited from obtaining or storing the biometric data of Illinois consumers unless they receive a prior written release, the filing explains. The case further claims that by using faceprints to facilitate the sale of photographs, GradImages violates a provision of the BIPA that prohibits companies from profiting from an individual’s biometric information.

According to the case, the photography business has unlawfully “collected, used, and profited from the biometrics of hundreds or thousands of Illinois citizens, many of whom never purposefully involved themselves with GradImages or had any idea that it was collecting their biometrics.” 

The plaintiff, a 2023 Southern Illinois University Edwardsville graduate who received an email from GradImages urging him to visit its website to purchase photographs taken of him at his graduation ceremony, says he never gave the company his consent to collect, use or profit from his biometrics. Per the suit, GradImages has taken photographs during at least 56 other graduation ceremonies at Illinois colleges, universities or high schools.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in Illinois whose biometric information or biometric identifiers were collected, captured, purchased, received through trade, or otherwise obtained or profited from by GradImages while residing in the state.

Get class action lawsuit news sent to your inbox – sign up for ClassAction.org’s free weekly newsletter here.