A proposed class-action lawsuit has been filed against Coinbase for violating Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) through its collection and storage of customer fingerprints and facial templates.
The lawsuit claims that Coinbase’s requirement for customers to upload pictures of a valid ID and a self-portrait to conduct KYC checks violated certain provisions of BIPA.
The suit argues that Coinbase did not gain permission from users when collecting their biometrics and did not provide information on how it would be stored, used and destroyed.
The lawsuit claims that thousands of “highly detailed geometric maps of the face” and fingerprints from Illinois residents were illegally collected and stored by the exchange.
The suit is seeking damages of $5,000 per intentional BIPA violation or $1,000 if the court finds the alleged violations were not wilful, along with paying the attorneys fees and court costs of the class action.
