Coinbase faces lawsuit over alleged breaches of Illinois biometric privacy law
Coinbase faces a class-action lawsuit from Illinois users alleging violations of the Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) due to its identity verification processes. Plaintiffs claim Coinbase's collection of faceprints for Know Your Customer requirements occurred without proper notification or consent. The lawsuit states that Coinbase did not inform users about the collection, storage, or sharing of their biometric data, nor did it provide a retention schedule. Users must upload a government-issued ID and a selfie, which are processed by third-party facial recognition software, capturing biometric identifiers without informed consent. The suit also alleges unauthorized sharing of biometric data with vendors like Jumio and Onfido. The plaintiffs seek $5,000 for willful violations and $1,000 for negligent ones, along with injunctive relief. Coinbase has previously faced similar lawsuits and arbitration demands from over 10,000 individuals regarding these issues.
