Chicago man sues Facebook over facial recognition use in “Tag Suggestions”

A Chicago man has filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Facebook, alleging that the social networking giant is in violation of an Illinois state law that requires users to expressly consent to instances where their biometric information being used. Plaintiff Carlo Licata argues that he and countless other Illinois residents have had their rights violated under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by Facebook's "Tag Suggestions" feature. That feature is powered by facial recognition technology, and operates without the consent of those being tagged. Licata wants the Cook County court to declare that Facebook is in violation of BIPA, ordering it to halt its practice, and to award statutory damages to the class, which has yet to be certified.