ROCKFORD, Ill. — Illinois residents are eligible to receive part of a $100 million class-action settlement after Google was accused of violating privacy laws in the state.
The tech giant was accused of violating the Biometric Information Privacy Act regarding its use of a face regrouping tool in the Google Photos app.
Google used the tool to sort faces it spots in photographs by similarity. However, according to the suit, the company did not receive consent from millions of users before using the technology.
As a result, Illinois residents who appeared in a photo on the app between May 1, 2015, and April 25, 2022, may be eligible for payment.
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What each claimant will be paid isn’t known although a similar settlement involving Facebook saw 1.6 million users receive between $200 and $400. Payment amounts will depend on the number and validity of claims.
Snapchat was also accused on violating Illinois privacy laws in a class-action lawsuit filed last month. It is still unclear when (or if) the case will move forward and potentially lead to a settlement.
The Google settlement was filed on April 14 in the state’s Cook County Circuit Court. The filing says Google does not admit to any wrongdoing but agrees to put measures in place to stay in compliance with Illinois privacy laws in the future.
“Defendant will develop, publish and abide by a retention policy in which it will commit to deleting face models or face templates associated with Google Photos user’s accounts,” the settlement states.
Google also agrees to not sell, lease, or trade face templates or face models to any third parties, and will store, transmit and protect from disclosure face templates or face models using security measures that are as secure as the ones it uses to protect its other sensitive information.
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Payments are expected to be sent out 90 days after the settlement is approved. An approval hearing is set for Sept. 28.
Illinois residents can submit a claim here.
Follow Jim Hagerty on Twitter: @jimhagerty
