Chambana Sun

A 2008 law requiring businesses that collected biometric data to have policies about collecting, storing, and using faces a Republican-led effort to amend the regulation that some critics say would render the mandate useless.

The Biometric Information Privacy Act of 2008 targets operations that collect fingerprints, use facial recognition programs or other such technologies. When enacted, however, it was when such technologies were new. Businesses small and large alike faced legal damages if they failed to receive written consent from customers or workers that their biometric data was being collected. Depending on the violation, a business could have to pay damages to the employee or customer between $1,000 and $5,000.

The new legislation would remove the need for written consent in favor of clearance in any form and eliminate the $1,000 in damages for "negligence violations." It would also require the aggrieved party to provide written notice 30 days in advance to the potential violator and an additional 30 days to resolve the matter before litigation can occur.

"The trial lawyers hate [the proposed amendments] because it will cost them big time as most small companies are forced to settle," said Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) in a March 29 Facebook post, who is the bill's chief co-sponsor.

Since 2019, approximately 1,100 lawsuits have been filed related to the biometric act.

"We think this is fair" House Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R-Burr Ridge) said, the Quad City Times reported. "This is what I believe is an appropriate balance between the rights of privacy and the employees, and also what I think is a fair shake for employers."

But the new legislation is being met with opposition from powerhouses like the ACLU despite it technically receiving bipartisan support to advance from the House judiciary committee in early March. One Democrat voted with Republicans.

Opponents of the new bill said it would reduce the effectiveness of the 2008 act and cited it being used as a model for other states as an example of its effectiveness.

"We are here because BIPA is working precisely as it was intended. This [new legislation] is prioritizing corporate profits over personal privacy and granting companies wide latitude to collect and exchange our biometric information like currency. This is not a solution," American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois advocacy and policy counsel Sapna Khatri said, the Quad City Times reported. "At a time when our neighbors and other states are modeling legislation around BIPA and issuing bans on the use of invasive biometric technology, like facial recognition, HB 559 presents a massive step back for Illinois".

The 2008 law led Facebook to agree to pay $650 million to more than 1 million users based in Illinois, which was reached on Feb. 28.

A wide range of other organizations have also been sued under the BIPA law, including the Salvation Army, nursing homes and St. Anthony's Hospital.