Apple Faces $32.5 Billion Lawsuit Over Biometric Data in Photos App
A class-action lawsuit in Illinois alleges that the iPhone's Photos app creates 'faceprints' without user consent. Apple's attempt to dismiss the case was rejected by an appeals court, allowing the litigation to proceed.
A class-action lawsuit with a potential value of up to $32.5 billion has been filed against Apple in the state of Illinois, USA, alleging that the iPhone's Photos app collects biometric data from photos without prior consent. According to a report in the Times, the litigation focuses on the facial recognition performed by the application on individuals appearing in the photo library.
The lawsuit claims that the app scans people in photos, creates a 'faceprint' for each of them, and uses an algorithm to identify the user once enough samples are collected. It is alleged that this information is stored on the iPhone within the Photos app and subsequently synchronized between devices via iCloud.
The case relies on the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, which came into effect in 2008 to regulate the use of biometric data by private companies. The law covers identifiers such as retina or iris scans, fingerprints, voiceprints, and faceprints, requiring companies to obtain consent for the collection or disclosure of such data, store it securely, and destroy it within a reasonable timeframe.
Apple attempted to have the lawsuit dismissed, arguing that its processes do not constitute biometric identifiers under the law. The company maintains that privacy mechanisms exist to prevent the vectors used for organizing photo albums from reconstructing faces, and that these are not linked to a person's name or identity.
Despite these arguments, an Illinois judge ruled in June that the lawsuit meets the requirements to proceed as a class action. On June 30, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit rejected Apple's appeal, and the case will move forward. The lawsuit claims that 6.5 million consumers in Illinois were affected. The law allows for a fine of $1,000 per violation, or up to $5,000 if the violation is found to be intentional or reckless. This same statute has been used in previous cases against Facebook and Google; in 2021, Facebook reached a $650 million settlement regarding its photo-related services.
