Companies that fail to secure written permission before collecting fingerprints, face scans, and other data from Illinois residents would see damages limited under proposed changes to the state’s biometric privacy law.
The Illinois Senate passed Thursday the measure (S.B. 2979) that would curb potential fines under the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act, or BIPA, which allows individuals to sue over such violations. The law has sparked class actions and notable settlements, such as a recent agreement by BNSF Railway Co. to pay $75 million in a case alleging employee privacy rights violations.
The legislation would limit how violations ...