BELLEVILLE – A proposed class of individuals who submitted photos to Geosnapshot are suing the company for allegedly violating state privacy laws.
Plaintiff Adam Moomaw and Regan Moomaw, filed a class action lawsuit in the St. Clair County Circuit Court against Geosnapshot PTY, LTD and Geosnapshot, Inc, citing invasion of privacy in violation of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. (BIPA)
According to the lawsuit, Geosnapshot is an online platform that allows users to upload and sell their photos online. Geosnapshot allegedly encourages users to upload selfies to allow its artificial intelligence technology to compare that photo with others in its database. This is allegedly done by extracting and comparing the unique facial geometry from each photo. Under BIPA, facial geometry falls under biometrics.
The lawsuit states that BIPA requires that prior to collecting biometric data including facial geometry, companies must inform individuals in writing that biometric data will be collected and stored. It also states that these individuals must be informed in writing of the specific purpose of why the biometric data is being collected and how long it will be stored. Companies must receive a written release from individuals for the collection of biometric data.
The plaintiffs are seeking damages for themselves and everyone in his class action lawsuit in the amount of $5,000 per intentionally reckless BIPA violation and $1,000 per negligent BIPA violation, plus court costs, attorney fees and any other relief the court deems proper. They are also requesting the court to issue an order to the defendants to cease the collection of biometric data without informed written consent.
The plaintiffs are represented in this case by attorney Matthew J. Limoli of the Driscoll Law Firm in St. Louis.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 23LA0365