Pindrop Recorded, Examined Calif. Consumers’ Voices Without Consent, Class Action Claims

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A proposed class action alleges Pindrop has violated a California privacy law by recording and analyzing the voices of consumers in the state without obtaining prior express written consent. 

The nine-page lawsuit says that Pindrop, which markets and sells software that enables companies to authenticate customers using their voices, has violated the California Invasion of Privacy Act, a law designed to regulate companies that record and/or examine state residents’ voice prints or voice stress patterns. 

“At no point did Pindrop obtain consumers’ express written consent—or any consent whatsoever—before recording and analyzing their voice in any manner or any time thereafter,” the suit alleges. 

As the case tells it, Pindrop’s software is becoming increasingly popular as businesses aim to verify the identities of customers who contact their call centers. Pindrop’s software creates a biometric voiceprint of a caller, and the company then uses artificial intelligence software to analyze the individual’s voice to “determine the truth or falsity of their statements made during the phone call,” the filing explains. 

The lawsuit claims that Pindrop’s software is designed to “secretly listen to callers’ voices” in such a way that they are “entirely unaware they are interacting with and providing their unique voiceprints to an unknown, third-party company.” 

“Worst of all,” the complaint says, is that Pindrop secretly creates for itself and stores a voiceprint from the caller’s voice without their knowledge or consent. 

The plaintiff is a Bank of the West customer who claims that Pindrop automatically captured and examined her voice without consent each time she contacted the bank’s call center. 

The case looks to cover all California residents who had their voice prints recorded or examined by Pindrop to determine the truth or falsity of their statements. 

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