A federal judge has ruled that Verizon customers who allege the company unlawfully collected biometric voiceprints must resolve their claims through arbitration, pausing a proposed class action lawsuit filed under Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). The decision marks a key development in ongoing litigation over corporate use of voice authentication technology.
Verizon’s Voice ID Under Legal Scrutiny
The lawsuit, filed in September 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, accuses Verizon of collecting and storing customer voiceprints without obtaining written consent, as required under BIPA. The plaintiffs targeted Verizon’s Voice ID system, which has been in use since 2018 through a partnership with security firm Pindrop. The technology analyzes unique vocal characteristics to authenticate callers and prevent fraud.
Judge Jorge Alonso ruled on May 30 that the case must proceed to arbitration. Although the arbitrator will need to determine whether the Voice ID dispute falls within the scope of the service agreement, the court found that Verizon’s contract delegates such questions to the arbitrator. As a result, the class action lawsuit has been paused pending resolution in private proceedings.
Verizon argued that customers agreed to arbitration when signing up for its services, and the court sided with the company’s interpretation of its agreement structure. The ruling does not resolve the underlying privacy claims but removes them from public litigation for now.
Implications for Biometric Privacy Litigation
The case is part of a broader wave of BIPA-related lawsuits targeting the use of biometric data by private companies. BIPA, one of the most stringent biometric privacy laws in the United States, requires companies to provide written notice, explain data retention practices, and obtain informed consent before collecting biometric identifiers such as fingerprints, facial scans, or voiceprints. Violations can result in statutory damages of up to $5,000 per infraction.
Other major companies have faced similar legal challenges. Target was recently sued over alleged in-store facial recognition practices, highlighting growing legal risks associated with biometric data use. The Verizon case also reflects the increasing adoption of voice and facial recognition technologies across industries. Microsoft recently expanded biometric login capabilities to hundreds of millions of Entra ID users, underscoring the technology’s growing footprint.
The court’s decision could influence how future BIPA lawsuits unfold, especially where arbitration clauses are embedded in consumer service agreements. If arbitrators consistently uphold such provisions, more biometric privacy disputes may be removed from public courtrooms and resolved in private settings.
Sources: Bloomberg Law, Techdirt, Security Affairs
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June 3, 2025 – by Cass Kennedy
