LVMH Sued For Illegally Storing Customers’ Biometric Data

Luxury goods maker LVMH is already using some of the same biometric technologies (many developed, unsurprisingly, by American companies) that the CCP employs to enforce unswerving obedience among its subjects. And pretty soon, more American companies might follow suit to gain a competitive edge.

According to a Bloomberg report, the company’s North American unit was accused in a lawsuit of unlawfully collecting biometric data about shoppers who use its online try-it-on tool for eyewear like glasses.

Per the suit, plaintiff lawyers asserted that the company collects detailed and sensitive biometric identifiers and information, including complete facial scans, of its users through the Virtual Try-On tool, and it does this without first obtaining their consent, or informing them that this data is being collected”.

That data is then collected and sent to an outside server, where it is stored.

The lawsuit cites the fact that the Illinois Biometric Privacy Protection Act prohibits collection and storage of biometric data without consent, and carries with it a fine of between $1,000 and $5,000 per violation.

To be sure, LVMH isn’t the only company that uses this type of technology. Warby Parker also has a similar feature that allows customers to virtually try on frames to see how they might look before buying them.

The luxury goods company also isn’t the first company to be sued over the Illinois law, as Insider explains:

This isn’t the first proposed class-action suit to cite Illinois’ biometric privacy laws.

In February 2021, Meta – then called Facebook – paid a $650 million settlement to users who sued the firm over its photo-tagging feature. Meta was then hit by a separate suit involving its photo app Instagram by users who claimed the app has a face-tagging tool that uses facial recognition to identify people. A judge recently ruled that Instagram users must arbitrate their claims individually, Bloomberg Law reported.

LVMH breaks this law “each and every time a website visitor based in Illinois uses the Virtual Try-On tool,” the lawsuit claimed, because it doesn’t receive informed consent from shoppers.