Instagram to pay $68.5M in Illiniois biometric privacy settlement – Chicago Tribune

Millions of Illinois Instagram users may be eligible for a cut of a new $68.5 million class-action biometric privacy settlement.The lawsuit alleges facial recognition technology used on the app until November 2021 violated Illinois’ biometric privacy law, which is considered the strictest in the nation.Any person who used Instagram while in Illinois between Aug. 10, 2015, and Aug. 16, 2023, will be eligible for a cut of the settlement if it is approved, according to court documents. DuPage County Circuit Judge Angelo Kappas issued a preliminary approval order of the settlement in early July.In court documents, attorneys for the plaintiffs estimate 4 million Illinois residents could be eligible to partake in the settlement. The size of payouts in the case would depend on how many eligible class members file valid claims.The deadline to submit claims is Sept. 27; residents can do so on the settlement website. A final approval hearing for the settlement is scheduled in October.The Instagram deal is the latest in a string of settlements by Big Tech companies over alleged violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. The law, passed in 2008, prohibits companies from collecting or saving biometric information, such as fingerprints, without prior consent.Facebook, now
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