In 2008, Illinois became the first state to regulate the collection of biometric data and which spawned a wide range of private class action claims brought under the Biometric Information Privacy Act. Today, the Illinois Supreme Court gave a boost to those claims by holding that actual harm is not required to state a claim under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”). Rather, violation of the statute itself “constitutes an invasion, impairment, or denial of the statutory rights of any person or customer whose biometric identifier or biometric information is subject to the breach.” The ruling is consistent with the interpretation of the BIPA by the California federal district court in In Re Facebook Biometric Information Privacy Litigation and is sure to encourage more such class actions in the future. With the proliferation of commercial use of biometric data, it is more important than ever to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place. For more information on the decision, please click below.
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