Illinois Supreme Court Rules Each Scan Violates BIPA
On Friday, February 17, 2023, the Illinois Supreme Court decided 4-3 that “a separate claim accrues under [the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, ‘BIPA’] each time a private entity scans or transmits an individual’s biometric identifier or information in violation of Section 15(b) or 15(d)” of the Act. See Cothron v. White Castle Systems, Inc., 2023 IL 128004 ¶ 1. This could have potentially devastating consequences for BIPA defendants, as it means individual plaintiffs or putative class members may seek statutory damages of $1,000 or $5,000 for each unauthorized scan of their biometric data during the five-year statutory limitations period.