Verizon Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over Alleged Unlawful Collection of Voiceprints

Verizon Wireless is facing a class action lawsuit filed in Illinois federal court, alleging that the company collects and stores customers’ voiceprints through its Voice ID feature without obtaining proper consent, as required by the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).

Plaintiffs Thelton George Parker Jr. and Steven Doyle claim that Verizon’s Voice ID captures unique voice characteristics used to identify individuals, which are considered “biometric identifiers” under BIPA.

According to the lawsuit, Verizon allegedly fails to inform customers in writing that their biometric data will be collected or stored, does not disclose the specific purpose and duration for which the data will be used, and does not obtain written consent from customers prior to the collection. The plaintiffs argue that this lack of transparency and consent violates the strict requirements set forth by BIPA, a law enacted to protect individuals’ biometric information due to its immutable nature and the heightened risks associated with its compromise.

Voiceprints are increasingly used by companies for identification and authentication purposes. While BIPA does not prohibit the collection or use of biometric data, it mandates that companies provide clear disclosures and obtain informed, written consent from individuals before collecting and storing such information.

The plaintiffs are seeking relief on behalf of all affected Illinois residents whose voiceprints were allegedly collected without proper consent.

Earlier this month, the Illinois Appellate Court, First District, ruled that Lloyd’s of London insurers are not obligated to defend Tony’s Finer Foods in a class action lawsuit filed under BIPA. That lawsuit claims Tony’s collected biometric data without proper consent and failed to publish a data deletion schedule. The court concluded that the cyber policies issued by Lloyd’s did not cover the class action, as it did not involve a data breach or extortion threat, while Tony’s use of a third-party timekeeping company to collect biometric data was also not deemed a breach under the insurance policies.

BIPA lawsuits have become an increasingly common occurrence over the past several years, though a recent amendment to the law has the potential to shield some small and medium sized businesses from the massive settlements already paid out by some tech giants.

Source: Top Class Actions

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September 23, 2024 – by Tony Bitzionis