Did Airbnb Violate Illinois Privacy Law?

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org need to hear from Illinois residents who used Airbnb as either a guest or a host and had to go through the vacation rental company’s identity verification process.

They have reason to believe the company may have illegally collected and stored the facial scans of Illinois users who were required to upload their photos and government-issued IDs to confirm their identities.

Illegal collection of consumers’ biometrics – which include facial geometries, fingerprints, retina scans and more – could require the offending company to provide consumers with up to $5,000 per violation.

What Am I Signing Up For? What Is Mass Arbitration?

You are signing up for something known in the legal space as mass arbitration. Generally speaking, arbitration is an alternative way to resolve a dispute and takes place outside the courtroom, without a judge, jury or trial. You can learn more about arbitration here.

With mass arbitration, hundreds or thousands of consumers will file individual arbitration claims against the same company over the same issue – such as a potential privacy violation.

While Airbnb has previously faced litigation for various reasons, the company’s terms of service clearly state that U.S. users agree to resolve disputes through arbitration and waive their rights to a class action lawsuit. This is why attorneys working with ClassAction.org have decided to handle this matter on a mass arbitration basis.

What Is the Biometric Information Privacy Act?

The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act – or BIPA, for short – is a state privacy law that aims to protect consumers from the unauthorized use of their unique biometric identifiers, which include fingerprints, retina or iris scans, voiceprints, hand and face geometry, and any biometric information based on these identifiers.

The law prohibits companies from collecting consumers’ biometric data unless they first inform the individuals in writing that their information will be collected and stored and explain why and for how long it will be used. The company must also obtain written consent from each individual and publish a publicly available retention schedule outlining how and when the data will be destroyed.

The attorneys working with ClassAction.org are now looking into whether Airbnb obtained Illinois users’ facial geometries – i.e., the unique measurements of a person’s face that can be used to identify them – from photos they uploaded during the identity verification process. If so, it’s possible that Airbnb may have violated the BIPA by failing to meet the statute’s disclosure and consent requirements before collecting users’ biometrics.

How Much Money Could I Get?

There are no guarantees as to how much Airbnb users could get if the mass arbitration is successful; however, the BIPA provides that companies who violate the law could owe up to $5,000 per violation.

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