FB pixel

A biometric data privacy win in court is followed by a related FTC investigation and lawsuit

A biometric data privacy win in court is followed by a related FTC investigation and lawsuit
 

Executives at facial recognition firm Clarifai may have sighed with relief in March 2021 when a judge agreed that they could not be sued for violating Illinois’ biometric privacy law, but then the federal government came knocking.

The Federal Trade Commission now wants to know how the face image that a woman posted on the OkCupid dating site ended up being used as training data by Clarifai without her consent or disclosing the transaction as required by Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act.

Clarifai makes computer vision, deep learning AI and biometrics systems.

Claiming that its investigation is being stonewalled by Match Group, owner of OkCupid, the FTC has filed suit (case number 1:22-mc-00054), according to Bloomberg Law.

The government claims that OkCupid engaged in unfair and deceptive conduct by sharing biometric data with Clarifai in 2014.

Clarifai is not a defendant, but it is hard to imagine a judgment in favor of the FTC will ultimately be positive for the company. And, of course, a finding for the government could have wider impact on U.S. businesses.

(Also in March, Clarifai joined the Data Ethics Consortium for Security.)

“Match produced some documents during the course of the FTC’s investigation,” the lawsuit states, “but has withheld nearly every responsive internal communication based on improper and overbroad assertions of attorney-client privilege and the work product doctrine.”

That doctrine protects information gathered in anticipation from being viewed by opposing lawyers.

In the case that spurred this one, Illinois resident Jordan Stein attempted a class action against Clarifai after she learned that her OkCupid profile was shared by OkCupid with Clarifai. The suit was heard in the Northern District Court of Illinois.

The judge dismissed Stein’s case without prejudice because the court lacked jurisdiction. It was found that Clarifai, among other reasons, had not targeted its actions at Illinois residents.

Analysis for the decision, by The National Law Review and Bloomberg Law, can be found here and here, respectively.

The FTC seems to be following the path that regulation observers anticipated since at least the beginning of the year, namely, opening a new area of federal preemption of BIPA claims.

Article Topics

 |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | 

Latest Biometrics News

 

EU investigating Atos over buying EES software through Russian office

European prosecutors are investigating French IT company Atos for using its Russian office to purchase software for the upcoming EU’s…

 

Maryland age assurance lawsuit shows NetChoice digging in on First Amendment

The legal lockup over age assurance continues in Maryland, where tech industry lobby group NetChoice has filed a lawsuit challenging…

 

Consequences of lax privacy, security of AI in policing looms large

The rapid integration of AI into law enforcement practices has raised pressing concerns regarding privacy, civil rights, and security. While…

 

Ducking ID fraud: An ABC for beating cyber-scammers

By Professor Fraser Sampson, former UK Biometrics & Surveillance Camera Commissioner You know the saying: “If it looks like a duck,…

 

Checkin.com brings biometric authentication to multinational telco

Checkin.com is to provide its biometric authentication software to multinational telecommunications company Ooredoo in a new agreement. Ooredoo, which is…

 

Sumsub launches ID verification product for Australia as fraud ramps up

Sumsub has launched a Document Verification Service (DVS) for Australia as part of the firm’s growing focus on the Asia-Pacific…

Comments

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Most Viewed This Week

Featured Company

Biometrics Insight, Opinion

Digital ID In-Depth

Biometrics White Papers

Biometrics Events