Airbnb User in Illinois?
Airbnb guests or hosts in Illinois who verified their identities in the Airbnb app were likely subjected to facial recognition technology. This could violate your privacy rights and Illinois law.
Jumio Corporation handles mobile payments and identity verification for Airbnb, among other companies. It is alleged in litigation that in providing this service, Jumio obtained photos of various people’s faces and of their government-issued IDs, and scanned and stored their facial geometry together with personally identifying information (PII). The current litigation also alleges that in taking, storing, and using this information, Jumio did not fulfill the requirements of an Illinois law, the Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).
What risks does biometric data present?
Collecting, storing, and using biometrics presents a greater risk to the subjects than collecting, storing, and using other types of PII. For example, if a driver’s license number is stolen, the person can have it cancelled and get a new license with a different number. However, if a facial scan is stolen, the person cannot get a new face that provides a different scan.
Illinois has made a start on protecting its citizens by passing BIPA, to require very basic requirements that must be fulfilled before a business can collect, store, or use their biometrics. But the current litigation alleges that Jumio took and stored Illinois Airbnb users’ facial scans without fulfilling the requirements of the law.
How did Airbnb violate BIPA in Illinois?
- It did not tell the subjects, in writing, that their biometrics were being collected, used, or stored.
- It did not tell the subjects, in writing, of the specific purpose and length of time for which their biometrics would be collected, used, or stored.
- It did not get the subjects’ written consent to collect, use, or store their biometrics.
- It did not tell the subjects about any third parties with which it would share, disclose, or otherwise disseminate the biometrics.
Airbnb User in Illinois FAQ’s
What is Airbnb?
Airbnb, as in “Air Bed and Breakfast,” is a service that lets property owners rent out their spaces to travelers looking for a place to stay. Travelers can rent a space for multiple people to share, a shared space with private rooms, or the entire property for themselves.
What is a BIPA violation?
A nursing home violated BIPA when it collected an employee’s biometric data for time tracking purposes without disclosing or obtaining consent from the employee.
Is facial recognition legal in Illinois?
No Profiting, Trading, or Disclosure Is Permitted. Even if a Company has written consent from the subject to collect, store, or use face recognition data, the Company is not allowed to sell the data or profit from someone’s facial geometry under any circumstances
What is biometric data under BIPA?
Under the BIPA, “biometric information” is any information, regardless of how it is captured, converted, stored, or shared, based on an individual’s biometric identifier used to identify an individual, such as a fingerprint.
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