Déjà vu BIPA lawsuits filed against Walmart, Target

Three of the largest retailers in America are each facing accusations of violating Illinois’ biometric data protection law in court. One lawsuit is recommended to proceed to trial, a potential class action follows a familiar pattern, and another is a near-replica of a complaint filed earlier this year.

Amazon should face allegations of Biometric Information Privacy Act violations for services it provided to Take-Two Interactive, a federal judge recommended this week, Law360 writes. Magistrate Judge Michelle L. Peterson directed the recommendation to District Judge Tana Lin, who is hearing argument for the case’s dismissal.

Peterson says that Amazon’s assertions that it did not have access to the plaintiff’s biometric data and was not aware it possessed his data cannot be granted as fact at the pleading stage. The court is obliged to consider plausible factual allegations as true

The plaintiff’s biometrics were captured for the game NBA2K21 on Xbox One, and allegedly passed on to Amazon without the proper disclosure and consent.

Amazon is also being sued for alleged BIPA violations with its employee time and attendance system.

A former Walmart employee accuses the company of violating BIPA’s informed consent and data sharing rules with its fingerprint time-tracking and payroll system, Top Class Actions reports.

Plaintiff Joann Davis alleges in a Federal Court lawsuit that she was informed her fingerprint biometrics would be used by the employee management system, but not of the details BIPA requires.

Walmart has already settled a BIPA case against former employees, agreeing to pay out $10 million back in 2021.

Target has been accused in the Northern District of Illinois by three people of collecting biometrics for theft-prevention without gathering informed consent, in a complaint spotted by Law360.

The three named plaintiffs allege that Target employees say the retailer sometimes waits for shoplifters to reach a certain dollar amount before apprehending them, tracking them over multiple visits with facial recognition.

A very similar complaint was filed against Target in Cook County Circuit Court in March.

The extent of damages applicable in each case does not depend on the fate of BIPA amendments that are one step away from becoming law, because it does not apply retroactively. Baker Donelson Of Counsel David J. Oberly explained the prospects and implications of the bill to Biometric Update when it passed the State Senate in April.

Oberly has just released the 2024 Edition of his Biometric Data Compliance & Best Practices book.

Article Topics

Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA)  |  data privacy  |  David Oberly  |  face biometrics  |  fingerprint biometrics  |  lawsuits  |  time and attendance