Revolut Technologies Inc., the creators of a popular consumer money and budgeting app, are facing a class action lawsuit in Illinois for allegedly violating the state's biometrics privacy law.
The lawsuit accuses Revolut of improperly scanning users' faces during the application process on their mobile app.
The plaintiff, Tina Haralampopoulos, alleges that Revolut unlawfully collects, uses, and stores sensitive biometric data without properly informing users or obtaining their written consent. This alleged activity is said to be in violation of the Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), which regulates companies that collect and store Illinois citizens' biometrics.
Haralampopoulos also claims that Revolut does not disclose any third parties' participation in the biometric identity verification process nor how applicants’ biometric data is collected, stored, and destroyed. The plaintiff seeks an order declaring that Revolut's conduct violates BIPA, requiring them to cease these activities, and awarding damages to her and other proposed class members.
The lawsuit makes Revolut just one of the latest tech companies targeted by such class actions under the BIPA law. Such lawsuits have proven costly in recent years, thanks in large part to recent Illinois Supreme Court decisions which have interpreted the BIPA law to define individual violations of the law as each time a business scans someone's so-called biometric identifiers, such as their fingerprints or facial geometry. This allows plaintiffs to demand damages of $1,000-$5,000 for every alleged violation, over a period of the preceding five years. This reasoning has typically resulted in settlements worth millions, with plaintiffs' attorneys typically claiming a third of the settlement funds.
The case was filed in Cook County Circuit Court on Dec. 11.
Plaintiffs are represented by attorney Matthew T. Peterson, of Consumer Law Advocate PLLC, of Chicago.