Facebook Inc FB is being sued in a California court for allegedly capturing biometric data of the users of its Instagram platform, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
What Happened
The photo-centric platform stands accused of collecting, storing, and profiting from biometric data of more than 100 million users without their consent, according to Bloomberg.
The lawsuit alleges Facebook only started informing users it was collecting biometric data at the beginning of 2020.
The social media behemoth offered to pay $650 million in settlement in a similar lawsuit last month after it was accused of collecting biometric data through a photo-tagging tool on Facebook.
Why It Matters
The Mark Zuckerberg-led company is liable to pay up to $5000 per violation, depending on the severity of the offense, under the Illinois law, which prohibits unauthorized collection of biometric data, Bloomberg noted.
The state's Biometric Information Privacy Act of 2008 is often invoked by users of technology platforms for apparent violations related to personal information.
Two disgrunted Illionis residents similarly sued Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, Alphabet Inc. GOOGL GOOG, and Microsoft Corporation MSFT last month for allegedly using photos of the individuals to train their facial recognition technologies, without prior consent, as required under Illinois law.
Price Action
Facebook shares closed almost 2.6% lower at $256.13 on Tuesday and gained nearly 0.5% in the after-hours session.
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