Two school children in Illinois, USA have filed a class-action lawsuit against big-gun Google for apparently collecting their biometric data without consent.
Google provides school districts across the US with Chromebooks, along with free access to G Suite which allows them to use tools like Gmail, Calendar, and Google Docs – in the lawsuit, the two children claim that Google is using the very same tools provided to create biometric face templates and voiceprints of children without consent.
Google is being sued for allegedly violating the Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act – the former regulates technology for collecting biometric data, while the latter aims to protect children 13 or younger who go online and requires websites to obtain parental consent before collecting personal information.
The lawsuit is seeking compensation for damages of USD1,000 for every member of the children’s class for every violation unknowingly committed, and USD5,000 for every offence committed intentionally. The report claims that Google has yet to respond, so it’ll be interesting to see how this pans out.
