Biometric Privacy Legislation Trends Rise Nationwide

Several states are following the path of Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), a law that has led to a rise in the volume of class action privacy litigation and underlined the significance of enterprise-level management of biometric data (e.g., fingerprint, voiceprint, and retina, facial, or iris image). Organizations that gather and utilize biometric data for employee tracking or consumer-facing uses (including the gathering and utilization of characteristics like heart rate or step counts) should be conscious of growing trends in biometric privacy laws (and corresponding risk of possible follow-on class actions) and should be proactive by assessing their compliance with existing and soon-to-be-effective laws and anticipating new laws in other states.