BELLEVILLE – A class action lawsuit alleges an online photo marketplace utilizing a facial recognition search engine to find people in photographs invades their privacy in violation of Illinois law.
Plaintiffs Spencer Mayhew and Ashley Reichert, on behalf of minors X.R. and H.R., filed a class action lawsuit in the St. Clair County Circuit Court against Candid Color Systems, Inc, TSS Photography, LLC and TSS Photography of Salem, citing negligence and carelessness in violation of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).
According to the lawsuit, the defendants provide an online platform to sell photos taken at school graduation ceremonies, youth sporting events, and other events as well. The online platform allegedly uses facial recognition technology that can identify facial images in a particular photograph and use that information to locate and match facial images from a gallery.
According to the lawsuit, many of these galleries contain hundreds of images of Illinois citizens, including images of the plaintiffs who never consented to or even knew that their biometrics were being collected by the defendants.
The lawsuit states that BIPA laws require that prior to collecting biometric data, companies must inform visitors in writing that biometric data will be collected and stored. It also states that visitors must be informed in writing of the specific purpose the biometric data is being collected, how long it will be stored, and companies must receive a written release from visitors for the collection of biometric data.
The plaintiffs argue that the defendants invaded their privacy and the privacy of untold Illinois citizens by collecting and storing their biometric data without informed consent. They add that the defendants do not have written, publicly available policies identifying how long it will store biometric data or information on a plan for permanently destroying biometric data.
The plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial to seek damages for themselves and everyone in the class action lawsuit, plus court costs, attorney fees and any other relief the court deems proper. They are also requesting injunctive relief requiring the defendants to comply with BIPA and cease the collection of biometric data without informed written consent. The plaintiffs are represented in this case by attorneys John J. Driscoll and Matthew J. Limoli of The Driscoll Law Firm, P.C.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 23LA0826