You Have Five Years to File Your BIPA Lawsuit: Identity News Digest

Welcome to FindBiometrics’ digest of identity industry news. Here’s what you need to know about the world of digital identity and biometrics today:

Illinois Supreme Court Sets Five-Year Filing Window for BIPA Lawsuits

The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) has a five-year statute of limitations. The ruling came in response to a petition from Black Horse Carriers, a logistics firm facing a class action lawsuit under BIPA, which argued that a one-year limitations statute in the state code for lawsuits should apply to BIPA. The Illinois Chamber of Commerce agreed in an amicus brief filing, warning that a five-year statute would lead to “potentially catastrophic damages” for companies. The wide-ranging privacy law has already resulted in almost 2,000 lawsuits since 2017.

BIPA Suit Targets Dating App for the Rich

Luxy Limited, which operates an online dating platform aimed at high net worth users, is now facing a proposed class action lawsuit under Illinois’s Biometric Information Privacy Act. The lawsuit alleges that the company collected the face biometrics of its users without obtaining written consent and without disclosing its data handling policies, as required under the BIPA regulation.

Ethiopia’s Biometric ID Project Raises Alarm Amid Civil Conflict

An effort by the government of Ethiopia to roll establish a biometric digital ID system is raising concerns about how it could be abused amid the country’s civil war, which is being fought along ethnic lines. Authorities are seeking to collect the data – including fingerprint and iris biometrics – of its 119 million inhabitants, but some believe that if the military had that data, it would be used to attack those of the Tigrayan minority, who are associated with a rebellion against the government. “The military would have used the data to hunt us down,” one told Reuters. “I’m sure of it.”

1Kosmos Gets High-Profile Customers

1Kosmos acquired new customers including AAA, UnionDigital, and Vodafone in 2022, the company has revealed in a 2022 update. Customers have proven enthusiastic about its BlockID platform, which enables identity verification and passwordless authentication via selfie biometrics. 1Kosmos did not disclose growth data relating to metrics such as revenues or the number of new customers in its year-end update, but CEO Hemen Vimadalal attested to “a significant increase in demand and adoption” of its technology.

FIDO Welcomes AuthenticID, Axiad

AuthenticID has joined the FIDO Alliance, with CEO Reed Taussig explaining that the cross-industry alliance’s “efforts to shape the future of privacy and develop standards that promote fast, secure logins are part of AuthenticID’s core values and will ensure we can further optimize our products for our customers and end users.” AuthenticID offers a biometric identity verification solution that matches photo IDs to their selfie images, as well as a mobile ID solution designed to let end users store virtual versions of documents like passports and driver’s licenses.

Axiad, meanwhile, has joined the FIDO Alliance Board of Directors, on which it will be represented by Strategic Partnerships and Alliances Senior Director Karen Larson. Axiad’s identity and access management platform supports a number of passwordless authentication solutions, including push notifications and passkeys. The company first joined the FIDO Alliance in October of 2021, and will now help to shape the Alliance’s efforts in the areas of enterprise and public sector through its board position.

TECH5, Uqudo Facilitate Biometric Voter Identification in Oman

TECH5’s biometric technology played an important role in municipal elections in Oman, thanks to the company’s strategic partnership with Dubai-based digital identity verification startup Uqudo. The latter was involved in the development of a digital voter identification system that enabled voters to scan their biometric identity cards with their smartphones, and to then confirm their identity with TECH’s facial recognition technology, backed by liveness detection. TECH5 announced its strategic investment in Uqudo in December of 2022.

Iris ID Attains SIA OSDP Compliance

Iris ID’s IrisAccess iCAM 7S Series of iris scanners have attained compliance with the Security Industry Association Open Supervised Device Protocol (SIA OSDP) Secure Profile standard – an industry first with respect to iris recognition technology. In announcing the achievement, Iris ID CTO Jun Hong said its value and importance “cannot be understated,” explaining, “OSDP is an industry standard, and it is essential to have in place as OSDP secures connections, protects against hacks, and allows for many remote functions not previously possible using the Wiegand protocol.”

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February 2, 2023 – by Alex Perala

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