Facebook Settles $550 Million Facial Recognition Lawsuit The historic payout demonstrates the power of an Illinois law that protects people’s biometric data

Facebook 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 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 case serves as the first major test of the Illinois law, which is one of the country’s few privacy regulations that gives consumers the right to sue a company for privacy violations, a legal concept called a “private right of action.” https://www.consumerreports.org/lawsuits-settlements/facebook-settles-facial-recognition-lawsuit/