Google Sued For Collecting Biometric Data Of Schoolchildren

The father of two elementary school girls, claiming violations of Illinois ‘Biometric Information Privacy Act or BIPA, has sued Google for alleged violations of privacy, reported CNET

The suit, filed on behalf of the kids whose names begin with H.K. And then J.C. According to their father Clinton Farwell, Google is in violation of BIPA by potentially gathering facial recognition and biometric data from children through its Chromebook delivery under its G Suite for Education programme.

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The lawsuit alleges:

“Google never informed the parents of the children in Illinois (or elsewhere in the country) whose voiceprints and face templates it has collected of the specific purpose and length of term for which their children’s biometric identifiers and information would be collected, stored, and used, nor did Google obtain a written release from the parents of any of these children.”

According to Brinkwire, it alleges that Google uses this data to “secretly and unlawfully monitor and profile children” and does so without “the knowledge or consent of those children’s parents.”

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The suit seeks $1,000 for each member of the class in question in lieu of each BIPA violation that it negligently committed, and $5,000 for each offense committed recklessly. 

Google, for its part, marks its G Suite for Education software as complying with BIPA’s federal counterpart, the Children’s Online Privacy Act, or COPPA. The company says they “contractually require schools using G Suite for Education to obtain the parental consent required by COPPA. Our services can be used in accordance with COPPA as long as there is parental consent from a school.”

Google told The Verge last month (in response to a New Mexico Attorney General’s lawsuit) that it “[does]n’t use users ‘personal details in primary and secondary schools to target advertisements.”

With more students still working from home, Google’s control over the American Education System seems to be-. The business recently signed up to offer California households in need of free Wi-Fi and Chromebooks.