Online dating service Zoosk and crypto trading app Zengo have each become some of the latest targets of potentially big money class action lawsuits under Illinois' biometrics privacy law.
In August, attorneys Michael L. Fradin and James L. Simon, both of Ohio, together filed lawsuits in Cook County Circuit Court against the operators of the Zoosk and Zengo apps, claiming the companies violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by allegedly improperly scanning the facial images of people who uploaded photos of their state-issued government identification cards to verify their identity when signing on to use the apps.
Both lawsuits were filed on behalf of the same named plaintiff, Mike Massel, identified only as a resident of Illinois who attempted to use the respective apps.
Michael Fradin
| lawyer.com
In both cases, each company is similarly accused of scanning and collecting the facial geometry data of Massel and other app users for authentication, but without first gaining explicit written consent, or providing publicly available information detailing how the data was collected, stored, used, and ultimately destroyed.
According to the complaints, Zoosk and Zengo similarly require app users to log in using their stored data to biometrically authenticate their identity each time they access the apps.
Operating since 2007, Zoosk is a U.S.-based online dating service available in 25 languages and in more than 80 countries. It is held by parent company, Spark Networks SE, an American-German dating company which offers a portfolio of other online dating services including SilverSingles, EliteSingles, Jdate, ChristianMingle, eDarling, JSwipe, AdventistSingles, LDSSingles and Attractive World.
Zengo was launched in 2018. According to G2, Zengo is considered to be among the most highly secure cryptocurrency wallets available, serving nearly a million customers worldwide. According to the complaint, Zengo directly targets and markets to an Illinois demographic and encourages its members to refer others to Zengo in exchange for free bitcoin.
In the past eight years, thousands of similar lawsuits have been filed against businesses operating in Illinois. The bulk of the lawsuits have targeted employers who use biometric scanning tech to track workers' hours or to limit access to sensitive areas in a work place.
However, a growing number of the lawsuits have also taken aim at app operators who require users to upload photos of their faces and IDs to verify their identity when signing up and using the sites.
Such lawsuits can prove very costly. Under recent Illinois Supreme Court decisions, plaintiffs can demand damages of $1,000-$5,000 per violation, multiplied across thousands or even millions of possible violations dating back five years. This can quickly cause potential damages to run into the many millions or even billions of dollars, should the case go to trial and a jury find in favor of the plaintiffs.
Some judges have labeled the potential payouts as "astronomical" and "absurd," given that to date no BIPA-related claim has ever asserted that the business actually caused any real harm through their biometric scans. Rather, they have claimed the mere technical violation of the law is enough to justify potentially ruinous damages against a business.
As with similar cases, it is not possible at this stage in the litigation to know the exact number of class members. Plaintiffs note their case likely involves thousands of potential class members, potentially setting the stage for large judgments or settlements to come.
Plaintiffs against Zoost and Zengo are seeking statutory damages of $5,000 for each intentional and/or reckless violation of BIPA and $1,000 for each negligent violation of BIPA, court costs and legal fees.