Dating service PlentyofFish has been accused in a class action lawsuit of unlawfully scanning users' faces during the sign-up process. The suit alleges that this practice violates Illinois' biometrics privacy law.
The named plaintiff, Sarah Henson, identified only as a resident of Illinois, filed the case on behalf of herself and all other similarly affected users.
The complaint states that PlentyofFish requires users to verify their identities by uploading a real-time portrait or 'selfie'. The company then allegedly scans these selfies, creates a biometric template of the user's face, and compares it with the photographs posted on their online dating profile to verify identities.
The lawsuit argues that facial geometry scans are unique and permanent biometric identifiers associated with each user. If compromised or stolen, they cannot be replaced or changed. This exposes users to serious and irreversible privacy risks including identity theft and unauthorized tracking.
According to the lawsuit, Henson opened a PlentyofFish account in 2020.
The lawsuit alleges that PlentyofFish's scans violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act by not informing users in writing about the collection, storage, and use of their biometric identifiers or information.
The lawsuit seeks potentially huge damages under BIPA for these supposed violations. The law permits plaintiffs to demand damages of $1,000-$5,000 per violation. The Illinois Supreme Court has interpreted the BIPA law to define individual violations as each time a user's biometrics are scanned over a period of the preceding five years, not just the first time.
The plaintiffs seek to expand the lawsuit to include every Illinois resident who held a PlentyofFish account in the past five years.
The lawsuit does not estimate how many people could be included in the class action, saying only they believe it is more than 1,000.
Plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Michael L. Fradin, of Skokie; and James L. Simon, of Independence, Ohio.