Snapchat may have to pay $35 million after being accused of breaking Illinois law.
Plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit alleged that the social media platform was collecting the biometric information of users without consent, WMAQ reported.
By doing so, Snapchat violated Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act.
The law, which was passed in 2008, requires companies to notify users and get their consent before collecting and saving biometric data, the Chicago Tribune reported. It allows private citizens to sue companies over the regulations.
The lawsuit was filed under Boone, et al. v. Snap Inc., WFLD reported. Despite the settlement, Snapchat denies wrongdoing but the agreement will keep the case from going to trial.
“Lenses do not collect biometric data that can be used to identify a specific person, or engage in facial identification,” Snap said, according to the Chicago Tribune. “For example, Lenses can be used to identify an eye or a nose as being part of a face, but cannot identify an eye or a nose as belonging to any specific person.”
The company also said that data used behind the lenses feature is not sent to their servers and stays on a user’s device.
Snapchat said it also introduced an in-app consent notice in Illinois earlier this year “out of an abundance of caution,” the newspaper reported.
The lawsuit was filed in May in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and news of the settlement was announced on Monday.
While an agreement has been reached, it still needs to have a final approval hearing, which is scheduled for November, WMAQ reported.
Illinois residents who used Snapchat Lenses or Filters between Nov. 17, 2015, and now can file a claim, as long as they do so before the deadline, which is currently set as Nov. 5.
The amount of money received by a claimant will depend on how many people file their claims. Court and administrative fees will also come out of the $35 million payout.
Once determined, the payouts will be sent by check, prepaid MasterCard or by electronic means such as Venmo, PayPal or direct deposit, WFLD reported.
The Chicago Tribune reported that the amount paid could be between $58 and $117.
For more information, visit the class action suit’s website.
Snapchat is not the only online platform that has had to pay for alleged violations under the biometric law.
Facebook also settled in a separate suit. Google has also been accused of violating the law, WFLD reported.
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