Call of Duty Investigation: Were Your Privacy Rights Violated?  

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org would like to hear from Illinois residents who played Call of Duty: Warzone, Modern Warfare II or Modern Warfare III and used the voice chat feature during multiplayer sessions.

They have reason to believe the video game’s publisher, Activision, may have violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by collecting and storing players’ voiceprints without providing required disclosures and obtaining proper consent.

Under the privacy law, consumers may be entitled to as much as $5,000 per violation.

What Is the Biometric Information Privacy Act?

The Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) is an Illinois state law that sets certain standards for how companies can handle consumers’ “biometrics” – that is, unique physical characteristics that can be used to identify an individual. Examples of biometrics include fingerprints, facial geometries, voice patterns, retina structure and even palm vein patterns.  

Because biometrics are unique and cannot be changed (like compromised passwords can), the BIPA requires that companies take certain steps before obtaining these identifiers to ensure Illinois residents retain control of this data.

The company must also create a written policy that’s available to the public and outlines how long the data will be kept, as well as guidelines for its destruction.

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org believe Activision may have collected players’ voiceprints through Call of Duty’s voice chat moderation technology, an AI-powered system known as ToxMod.

ToxMod—which has been incorporated into Call of Duty: Warzone, Modern Warfare II and Modern Warfare III since November 2023—is designed to flag and enforce against hate speech, discriminatory language, harassment and other forms of inappropriate speech within in-game voice chat.

It’s possible that ToxMod may be capturing and storing Call of Duty players’ voiceprints without complying with the BIPA’s requirements, which could be a violation of gamers’ privacy.

Is This a Lawsuit? What Am I Signing Up For, Exactly?

You are not signing up for a lawsuit, but rather a process known as mass arbitration. This is a relatively new legal technique that, like a class action lawsuit, allows a large group of people to take action and seek compensation from a company over an alleged wrongdoing. Here is a quick explanation of mass arbitration from our blog:

“[M]ass arbitration occurs when hundreds or thousands of consumers file individual arbitration claims against the same company over the same issue at the same time. The aim of a mass arbitration proceeding is to grant relief on a large scale (similar to a class action lawsuit) for those who sign up.”

Activision’s terms of use contain both a class action waiver and an arbitration clause requiring customers to resolve disputes via arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution that takes place outside of court before a neutral arbitrator, as opposed to a judge or jury.  

It’s for this reason that attorneys working with ClassAction.org have decided to handle this matter as a mass arbitration rather than a class action lawsuit.

How Much Does This Cost?

It costs nothing to sign up, and you’ll only need to pay if the attorneys win money on your behalf. Their payment will come as a percentage of your award.

If they don’t win your claim, you don’t pay.

How Much Money Could I Get?

There are no guarantees as to how much money you could get or whether your claim will be successful. The BIPA, however, provides that companies may be responsible for paying consumers $1,000 for negligent violations of the law and as much as $5,000 for willful violations.

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