Snapchat photo-sharing service parent company Snap and the US state of Illinois have settled a $35 million class action lawsuit involving the unauthorized acquisition of user data.
The state’s biometric information privacy law was allegedly violated by Snapchat’s filters and lenses, the lawsuit alleges (BIPA).
According to The Chicago Tribune, the company “stored biometric data without users’ permission.”
A portion of the settlement, “estimated between $58 and $117,” will go to people who used lenses and filters between Nov. 17 and Nov. 30, 2015.
According to state law, businesses must provide written explanations to customers about why and for how long their biometric data is stored.
A federal judge in Illinois on Tuesday approved a $92 million class-action settlement between TikTok users and the short-form Chinese video app.
TikTok has been accused of violating both federal law and Illinois biometric information privacy law, according to the lawsuit.
Regarding a face grouping feature in Google Photos that allegedly violated BIPA, Google agreed to pay $100 million in June.
In order to resolve a comparable BIPA class action case, Facebook agreed to pay $650 million in 2021.
