9th Circuit Says Facebook Users Can Sue in Face-Scanning Case
Facebook users can sue the platform over alleged facial recognition technology abuses, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday in case 3:15-cv-03747-JD. Facebook users in Illinois claim the platform’s use of face-scanning technology to identify users through their…
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uploaded images without consent violated the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act. “We plan to seek further review of the decision,” a company spokesperson said. “We have always disclosed our use of face recognition technology” that users can turn on and off. “Both corporations and the government are now on notice that this technology poses unique risks to people's privacy and safety,” said American Civil Liberties Union staff attorney Nathan Freed Wessler. Meanwhile, reports suggest Hyp3r, a Facebook third-party marketing partner, collected public user data from Instagram users for a year without consent, despite its being meant to expire in 24 hours. Data included geolocation, bios, followers, metadata and photos. “So long as any company can operate in the U.S. as it does now, free of any strong consumer privacy and security laws to hold it accountable, companies will continue to turn a blind eye to user privacy and security violations,” said Public Knowledge Policy Fellow Dylan Gilbert.