A $32.5 billion class-action lawsuit involving the Illinois Biometric Privacy Act (BIPA) and iPhone Photos has been pared down, with the judge partially granting an Apple motion for summary judgment and decertifying one subclass.
The lawsuit surfaced in August, alleging that Apple collected biometric data without user consent through the Photos app. In a September 30 filing, U.S. District Judge Nancy Rosenstengel severely cut back the class-action fight. In a 34-page ruling, the judge partially agreed with an Apple motion while decertifying one of the suit's subclasses.
The original complaint alleges that Photos uses facial recognition to scan faces and create a "faceprint" that can identify the iPhone user and others. The faceprint is stored by the Photos app, and the photos and associated data are synchronized across devices using iCloud. Because a faceprint is thought to be biometric data, the plaintiffs argue it violates BIPA.
Apple moved for summary judgment, arguing that it neither collects nor possesses biometric identifiers or biometric information. The plaintiffs, led by a "Jane Doe," sought partial summary judgment on Apple's liability. Apple's motion was mostly denied, though it succeeded regarding something called "Face Crops." Apple also argued that faceprints should not qualify as biometric identifiers because its neural network analyzes pixels rather than measuring facial geometry. The judge found enough evidence for a jury to potentially side with the plaintiffs.
Source: AppleInsider · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing