Extract from Marianna Wharry’s article “Emerging Technologies Bring Shifts in Biometric Privacy Litigation, Experts Say”
Gaining access to restricted areas through facial recognition, fingerprint scans, and retinal screenings was once considered a lofty idea for science fiction movies, but as corporate entities increasingly turn to biometric identifiers across multiple industries, legal experts warn that advances in technology must fall in line within the bounds of one state’s law.
In the U.S., the regulation of biometric information is currently entirely left to each state. One state with some of the most notable laws governing how private entities can use or store information about an individual’s physical characteristicsis Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act, which allows individuals to bring private lawsuits for violations. Private entities in the state must have a public, written policy identifying what personal information is being retained, and when it will be permanently destroyed, among other things.
The class action boom under BIPA over the past few years commonly stemmed from employees clocking in at work through a fingerprint scan, but as those cases have essentially worked their way through the system, ongoing technology advancements could open the door for a new trend, according to Matthew Kugler, a professor at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, who studies privacy litigation.
