Class Action
Patel v. Facebook
In re Facebook Biometric Information Privacy Litigation (Patel v. Facebook, Inc.)
Where it stands
Final approval entered January 14, 2021 by Judge James Donato; class payments of roughly $397 per claimant were distributed in 2021. Facebook discontinued its face recognition system in November 2021.
Key ruling
Patel v. Facebook, 932 F.3d 1264 (9th Cir. Aug. 8, 2019) — the Ninth Circuit held that a bare BIPA procedural violation involving facial recognition is a concrete Article III injury and affirmed class certification; rehearing en banc denied October 18, 2019. This ruling is the foundation for federal-court BIPA standing.
The record
- Court
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
- Case number
- 3:15-cv-03747
- Filed
- 2015-04-21
- Defendants
- Facebook, Inc. (now Meta Platforms, Inc.)
- Plaintiffs
- Facebook users located in Illinois for whom Facebook created and stored a face template after June 7, 2011, who resided in Illinois for at least 183 days and submitted a claim
- Technology at issue
- Facebook 'Tag Suggestions' facial recognition and face template creation
- Relief sought
- BIPA statutory damages of $1,000 per negligent violation and $5,000 per reckless or intentional violation (740 ILCS 14/20) for creating and storing face templates without informed written consent, plus injunctive relief requiring deletion of templates.
- Settlement
- $650,000,000
- Counsel of record
- Edelson PC · Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP · Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP
Claims pleaded
Sources (2)
- In re Facebook Biometric Information Privacy LitigationLabaton Keller Sucharow LLP
- Judge Allows Facebook to Settle Facial Scanning Suit for $650 MillionKnobbe Martens · 2021
This page describes a publicly filed case. This site is not counsel on this matter, nothing here is legal advice, and the allegations described are allegations unless a court has said otherwise.