Did Airbnb Violate Illinois Privacy Law?
Last Updated on February 24, 2023
At A Glance
- This Alert Affects:
- Illinois residents who used Airbnb as a host or guest and had to go through the company’s identity verification process.
- What’s Going On?
- Attorneys working with ClassAction.org have reason to believe Airbnb may have violated Illinois privacy law by collecting and storing facial scans from users’ photos and IDs, uploaded for verification purposes. Now, attorneys are gathering users of the vacation rental company to potentially take action through a process known as mass arbitration.
- What Is Mass Arbitration?
- Mass arbitration occurs when potentially hundreds or thousands of people file individual arbitration claims against the same company, at the same time and over the same issue. It’s different than class action litigation – but still allows consumers a chance to recover compensation for an alleged wrongdoing.
- What You Can Do
- If you live in Illinois and went through Airbnb’s identity verification process, sign up today using the link listed below and join others taking action.
- What Could I Get?
- Illinois law provides that consumers who had their facial geometries or other biometrics illegally collected could be owed up to $5,000.
- Does It Cost Anything to Sign Up?
- It costs nothing to sign up – plus, your attorney only gets paid if they win your claim.
Did you use Airbnb?
If you had to upload a photo or ID to verify your identity, join others taking action. It doesn’t cost anything, and all you have to do is fill out a quick form using the link below.
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.
Did you go through Airbnb’s identity verification process? If so, your privacy rights may have been violated – and you could be owed money because of it. Fill out this quick, secure form to join others taking action or read on for more information.
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.
In some cases, a company facing a significant number of arbitration claims may choose to settle the matter as a whole rather than spend the money it would take to resolve each claim individually.
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.
What You Can Do
If you’re an Illinois resident and you uploaded a photo or ID to verify your identity with Airbnb, fill out this quick form today to join others taking action.
Does It Cost Anything to Sign Up?
It costs nothing to sign up. And, if your attorney doesn’t win your claim, you don’t pay. In successful cases, your attorney will be paid a percentage of your award.
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