Facebook Loses in Illinois
I may be getting $200 from Facebook. WHAT!?!!??!???
I didn't even know this was taking place:
Facebook has agreed to pay $550 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that alleged the company’s use of facial recognition technology violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. The case marks one of the largest cash settlements ever reached in a privacy lawsuit.
The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, or BIPA, requires companies to obtain consumers' explicit consent before collecting or sharing biometric information, such as facial recognition or fingerprint scans.
The $550 million settlement is a historic but relatively small amount in the context of the company’s overall finances. Facebook announced the settlement Wednesday as part of its latest earnings report. The company reported about $21 billion in revenue and more than $7 billion in profit just in the last three months of 2019.
It remains to be seen how many consumers will join the class in the Illinois case, but attorneys for the plaintiffs suggest each individual class member may get $200 or more from the settlement.
So what's the big deal? This summarizes it nicely:
Consumer advocates argue that biometric data is particularly sensitive because if it falls into the wrong hands, there’s nothing consumers can do about it—you can change a password, but you can’t change your face. Facial recognition is also controversial because it can be used to identify and track people in public spaces without their knowledge or consent.
Scary stuff, folks. Definitely, all sorts of "Big Brother" / "1984" implications and ramifications. Like it or not, it's the direction we are headed.
Grace & Peace & Love to you all -
Matt
