Verizon Illegally Captured Consumers’ Biometrics Via Voice ID Authentication, Class Action Claims

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Verizon faces a proposed class action lawsuit that alleges the carrier has illegally captured Illinois residents’ voiceprints through its Voice ID password authentication service.

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The 25-page Verizon lawsuit claims the company has run afoul of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by failing to make required disclosures and obtain written consent prior to collecting consumers’ biometric identifiers through Voice ID, a system that uses a subscriber’s voice to authenticate their account when they call Verizon.

The filing claims defendants Verizon Communications and Verizon Wireless violate the Illinois BIPA “each and every time” a consumer enrolls in Voice ID.

“Defendants never informed Voice ID users that their biometric identifiers and biometric information were being collected or stored—during the initial enrollment process or during subsequent phone calls while Voice ID was active and being used,” the privacy case summarizes. “Defendants also failed to inform customers of any specific purpose for the collection or storage of their biometric identifiers or biometric information, and failed to provide customers a schedule setting out the length of time during which those biometric identifiers or biometric information would be collected, stored, used, or destroyed.”

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Though the BIPA does not prohibit companies from using customers’ biometric identifiers, such as voiceprints, it does impose regulations that require special treatment of the sensitive data in comparison to traditional personally identifiable information, the case explains. Whereas a Social Security number or driver’s license number, for instance, can be changed, a consumer’s voiceprint, facial scan or fingerprint cannot, leaving the person with no recourse should the biometric data be compromised, the complaint emphasizes.

At no point in the Voice ID enrollment process does Verizon inform Illinois customers in writing that a biometric identifier and/or biometric information is being collected and stored, the case says.

Per the suit, Verizon’s apparent BIPA violations “cannot be the result of oversight or lack of legal guidance” given the company’s size and access to resources and legal counsel. Instead, the alleged biometric privacy abuses through Voice ID are “intentional and reckless, or at the very least negligent,” and put consumers’ privacy at risk, the complaint argues.

The case notes that Verizon purports online to maintain specific privacy policies for residents of 10 states, though not for Illinois.

“There is no justification for Defendants’ failure to maintain any privacy policy specific to Illinois, Illinois residents, or BIPA,” the suit contends. “To the contrary, the omission is reckless, if not intentional.”

The Verizon Voice ID lawsuit looks to cover all individuals whose biometric identifiers or biometric information was captured by Verizon through the use of Voice ID while residing and/or present in Illinois at any time from September 13, 2019 through the present.

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