● Covered by 1 source · 2 reportsMedium impact2 negative
Judge Allows $30 Billion Class-Action Lawsuit Against Apple Over Photos Face Recognition
Key points
- Lawsuit alleges Apple Photos' "People" feature violates Illinois BIPA.
- Potential damages for Apple could exceed $30 billion.
- BIPA allows $1,000 for negligent, $5,000 for intentional violations.
- Similar BIPA lawsuits led to Meta settlements of $650M and $68.5M.
- Apple attempted to dismiss the claims multiple times since 2020.
Class-Action Lawsuit Certified Against Apple
A class-action lawsuit against Apple has been certified, allowing it to proceed to trial. The lawsuit alleges that Apple's Photos application, specifically its "People" feature, violates the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). This legal action was initiated in March 2020 by a group of approximately 10 Apple users.
Potential Financial Implications
The case carries significant financial implications for Apple, with potential damages estimated to exceed $30 billion. The BIPA statute allows for damages of $1,000 for each negligent violation and $5,000 for each intentional or reckless violation.
Precedent from Previous BIPA Cases
This lawsuit draws parallels to previous cases under the same Illinois law. Meta, for instance, settled a BIPA lawsuit for $650 million concerning Facebook's facial-recognition system, which scanned photos for tagging suggestions. Additionally, Meta reached a separate $68.5 million settlement over allegations that Instagram collected and stored users' biometric data without consent.
Legal Proceedings and Apple's Response
Since its filing in 2020, the lawsuit against Apple has involved four amended complaints, extensive discovery, and multiple attempts by Apple to have the claims dismissed. Despite these efforts, a judge has now allowed the case to move forward.
✨ This summary was generated by AI from the outlets' reporting listed below. It is not independently verified and may contain errors — check the original sources. How BrevFeed works →
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How outlets covered it
A $32 billion lawsuit against Apple, alleging privacy violations by its Photos app's face recognition feature, has been allowed to proceed. The lawsuit, filed under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), is based on a misunderstanding of how Apple's on-device face recognition differs from server-side processing used by other companies like Meta.
A judge has certified a class-action lawsuit against Apple, alleging its Photos app violates Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) through its "People" feature. This case could result in damages exceeding $30 billion for Apple, similar to previous BIPA settlements involving Meta and Instagram.