Walmart Faces Lawsuit Over Voiceprint Collection
Walmart is sued in Illinois for allegedly collecting customer voiceprints without consent, violating the Biometric Information Privacy Act.Summary
A lawsuit has been filed against Walmart in Illinois, alleging the company collected and stored voiceprints of customers without their informed written consent, in violation of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). The plaintiff, identified as Smith, claims she was not informed that her voiceprint was being collected when using automated voice systems at Walmart stores, and expresses concern because she uses her voiceprint to access sensitive services like banking. The lawsuit argues that merely including biometric data collection in a privacy policy is insufficient under BIPA, which requires explicit written disclosure. It also alleges that Walmart uses voiceprints to link customer data to payment methods, creating a large biometric database. A similar lawsuit was recently filed in Illinois by another plaintiff, Anthony Wilson, alleging potential sharing of voiceprint data with third parties. The case highlights growing tensions between retail personalization efforts and consumer privacy rights under state biometric laws.
(Source：Headtopics)