KeyMe accused of violating the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act

A class action lawsuit has been filed against KeyMe Inc. for allegedly violating the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, Cook County Record reports. The complaint was filed individually and on behalf of a class of similarly situated individuals in Cook County Circuit Court earlier this month by Henry Rafidia.

The plaintiffs allege that Henry Rafidia and those whose biometrics were collected and stored by the defendant to fabricate scanned keys for their homes, have suffered and will suffer increased risks for identity theft, and misappropriation of one’s identity as a result of defendant’s conduct. It is also alleged that KeyMe failed to obtain written consent to retain plaintiffs biometrics, failed to provide policies for the destruction schedule and guidelines for permanently destroying the biometrics, and failed to obtain consent to disseminate plaintiffs’ biometrics to third parties.

The plaintiffs asked for a trial by jury and seek judgment against defendant, certify class action, declaratory relief, injunctive and equitable relief, statutory and monetary damages, attorneys’ fees, costs, litigation expenses, interest, and other relief.

Proposed class action BIPA suits were also filed in August against Southwest Airlines and Loews Chicago Hotel, with allegations in both cases of improper handling of fingerprint data for time and attendance systems.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  BIPA  |  data collection  |  data protection  |  legislation  |  privacy