In October 2022, Facebook’s parent company Meta announced that it would be paying out over $400 to potentially millions of users in Illinois as part of a $650 million class action lawsuit settlement. The payouts are related to a lawsuit alleging that Facebook violated Illinois’ biometric privacy law by collecting and storing users’ biometric data without consent through its “Tag Suggestions” feature.
What is the Tag Suggestions feature?
The Tag Suggestions feature uses facial recognition technology to analyze photos uploaded by users in order to detect faces and suggest people to tag in the photos. When suggesting tags, Facebook creates and stores a template of biometric data – such as facial features – for each person detected. This feature launched in 2010 to make it easier for users to tag friends and family in photos.
What is the biometric privacy law in Illinois?
Illinois has a biometric privacy law called the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) which requires companies to obtain informed written consent from consumers before acquiring and using their biometric data such as fingerprints, facial scans, and iris scans. BIPA also requires companies who collect biometric data to detail their retention and destruction policies and to store, transmit, and protect the data securely.
How did Facebook violate Illinois’ biometric privacy law?
By using facial recognition technology to create and store face templates – or biometric identifiers – of users in Illinois in order to power the Tag Suggestions feature without their consent, Facebook violated the informed consent provisions of BIPA. Facebook did not inform its users in Illinois how long it would retain their biometric data, did not establish a retention schedule, and did not obtain a written release from those users.
Who is eligible for the payout?
The class action lawsuit settlement applies to Facebook users located in Illinois for whom Facebook created and stored a face template after June 7, 2011. To be eligible, users must have appeared in at least one photo uploaded to Facebook from Illinois between that date and the date of the settlement. It’s estimated that millions of Facebook users in Illinois may be eligible.
How much will individual payouts be?
The settlement has established a $397 fund which will be used to pay individual claims from users who submit valid claims. The final payout amounts will depend on how many claims are submitted and approved. Earlier estimates predicted users may receive between $200-$400 each, but with a large number of claimants, the final amount per person is likely to be at the lower end of that range.
How can eligible users file a claim?
A website – www.facebookbipaclassaction.com – has been set up where eligible Facebook users can submit claims. Users will need to provide their name, a current mailing address, email address or phone number associated with their account, and select whether they were an Illinois resident between June 2011 and the settlement date. Claims can be submitted online or via mail. The deadline to file a claim is November 23, 2022.
What does Meta/Facebook say about the settlement?
In a statement, Meta said: “We decided to pursue a settlement as it was in the best interest of our community and our shareholders to move past this matter.” The company reported that it expects to pay out the $650 million settlement in full by the first quarter of 2023, pending the final approval of the courts.
What happens if users don’t submit a claim?
Users who are eligible for a payout but fail to submit a claim by the November 23 deadline will not receive any monetary benefit from the settlement fund. The remaining money will be divided amongst the claimants who did submit valid claims.
Will this impact Facebook’s use of facial recognition going forward?
While the settlement only applies to Illinois users, it could motivate Facebook to make changes to its use of facial recognition more broadly. Earlier in 2022, Meta announced it would be shutting down its Face Recognition system and deleting over 1 billion facial templates as part of an effort to ‘address growing societal concerns’. However, face scanning and identification is still occurring in features like Tag Suggestions.
Is Facebook still using the Tag Suggestions feature?
Yes, as of October 2022, the Tag Suggestions feature is still active and available to Facebook users in Illinois and elsewhere. While the feature is still powered by face scanning technology, in late 2021, Facebook introduced a new setting to give users more control. Users can now opt-out of the face recognition setting which will disable Tag Suggestions and stop Facebook from creating and storing face templates.
Could Facebook face other lawsuits related to biometric privacy?
It’s possible. A number of other states including Texas, Washington, and New York have biometric privacy laws similar to BIPA in Illinois. While Facebook has now reached a settlement in Illinois, legal experts say users in other states could potentially bring additional class action suits against Facebook and other tech companies for violating their biometric privacy rights in the future.
Conclusion
Facebook’s $650 million settlement over its Tag Suggestions feature is one of the largest settlements ever for a privacy violation. The case underscores the importance of biometric privacy and the risks companies face when collecting biometric data without informed consent. While the individual payouts from the settlement fund may be small, the lawsuit serves as an important reminder for Facebook and other companies to be transparent in how they handle biometric data and respect user privacy choices.