
One caution: Facebook may be an outlier in terms of size the next largest class had roughly 1.11 million members (see Rosenbach v. For instance, in Wickens, there were only about 724 class members, far fewer than the roughly 15 million members in the Facebook class. A pattern emerges: on average, individual class members recovered more in smaller classes. Ct.) (though this was for one of two subclasses the members of the other subclass each received an estimated $205) to $1,000 per class member in Wickens v. Though this is the average, we observed a fairly large range of potential recoveries, from just $21 per class member in Phillips v. Thus, while headlines emphasize the total amount of the Facebook settlement, the per-class-member recovery in that settlement is lower than the average recovery of around $440 per class member. The parties estimated that each class member stood to recover a maximum of $342. The Facebook class included about 15.37 million class members. The other critical piece of information is the class size because this number will give much better information about the value of each class member’s claim. But even though the gross amount of Facebook’s $650 million settlement should inspire some caution, it only tells part of the story.
SIX FLAGS FINGERPRINT LAWSUIT PLUS
The availability of large statutory damages, plus the headlines about Facebook’s payment of $650 million to settle users’ claims that its facial recognition technology violated BIPA, is enough to make any user of biometric data nervous (see In re Facebook Biometric Info. The Big Question: How Much Money Are Companies Paying?ĭamages in BIPA class actions add up quickly because the statute authorizes a penalty for each violation in the amount of $1,000 (for negligent violations) or $5,000 (for intentional violations), as well as attorneys’ fees and costs (740 Ill. Almost no settlements allowed unclaimed funds to revert to the defendant.Majority of settlements utilized a claims process.Slightly over half of the settlements feature injunctive relief.Class sizes vary widely from 724 members to 15.37 million members.Average recovery of $440 per class member.Part II will examine some successful (and unsuccessful) dispositive motions filed by companies facing BIPA claims. (Illinois is currently the only state that authorizes a private right of action for violation of biometric information privacy laws). In this post, we will discuss some of the trends we have observed from reviewing 15 settlements of class actions brought under Illinois’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), 740 Ill. With rare exceptions, these cases end either in settlement or via a successful dispositive motion.


Biometric class actions have proliferated in recent years - and with more states eyeing comprehensive data privacy legislation, companies that use biometric data should plan for the surge to grow.
