Vimeo sued for allegedly collecting facial biometrics without consent


Promotional screenshot of video-editing service in action.

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Vimeo is collecting and storing thousands of people's facial biometrics without their permission or knowledge, a recently filed lawsuit alleges.

The "highly detailed geometric" facial maps, according to a complaint, are being collected and stored in violation of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy ACT, or BIPA, according to a complaint filed last week in Illinois state court. The law bars companies from obtaining or possessing an individuals' biometric identifiers or information unless the company (1) informs the person in writing of its plans to do so, (2) states in writing the purpose and length of term for the collection and storage, (3) receives written permission from the user, and (4) publishes retention schedules and guidelines for destroying the biometric identifiers and information.

The complaint alleges Vimeo is violating the law by collecting, storing, and using the facial biometrics of thousands of unwitting individuals throughout the United States whose faces appear in photos or videos uploaded to the Magisto video-editor application. Vimeo acquired Magisto in April and claimed the editor had more than 100 million users.

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via Biz & IT – Ars Technica https://ift.tt/2n3kMUQ

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