Facebook has announced that it has reached a $550 million settlement in principle related to a class-action lawsuit that claimed it illegally collected and stored biometric data for millions of users without their consent.
The lawsuit began in 2015, when Illinois users accused Facebook of violating the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act in collecting biometric data.
Facebook allegedly accomplished this through its “Tag Suggestions” feature, which allowed users to recognize their Facebook friends from previously uploaded photos.
Under the state law, companies must obtain explicit permission before collecting biometric data – including scans of faces, the Washington Post explained.
The settlement came after Facebook failed to petition the Supreme Court to quash the lawsuit.
In a statement, law firms Edelson, Robbins Geller and Labaton Sucharow said the plaintiffs will ask the district court to give preliminary approval for the settlement.
