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Hundreds of thousands of Illinois residents who filed claims in a multi-million dollar class-action lawsuit alleging Google violated the state's Biometric Privacy Act will soon see a payout, although it won't be as much as originally expected.
According to documents filed on May 31 in Cook County Circuit Court, 687,484 Illinois residents who submitted valid claims will receive somewhere between $95-$96 each. A Cook County judge in September of last year gave final approval of the $100 million settlement, more than three months after the agreement was reached between the plaintiffs and Google.
Residents had until late September of 2022 to file a claim if they appeared in a photograph on Google Photos anywhere between May 1, 2015 and April 25, 2022 while an Illinois resident. That fall, the Chicago Tribune reported that the judge indicated around 420,000 claims were filed in the case, which would mean each person could get around $150. Prior to that, attorneys estimated each person would be paid somewhere between $200 and $400.
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In the many months since, the number of claims submitted soared to 687,484, reducing the amount paid to each person.
The lawsuit, which mirrors one previously settled with Facebook that resulted in many residents receiving checks worth nearly $400, claimed the company violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act by "collecting and storing biometric data of individuals who, while residing in Illinois, appeared in a photograph in the photograph sharing and storage service known as Google Photos, without proper notice and consent."
If a company is found to have violated Illinois law, citizens can collect civil penalties up to $5,000 per violation compounded by the number of people affected and days involved. Since BIPA is an Illinois law, it only applies to state residents.
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So, when will payments start going out?
Cook County Circuit Court Judge Anna Loftus, at a hearing on Friday, said the process of verifying claims filed in the case had been completed to her satisfaction and that the class had been identified in its entirety, according to the Chicago Tribune. According to a website with detailed information about the settlement, payments wouldn't be distributed until the court reviewed the verification process.
With that having taken place, it's clear the distribution date is approaching, but when is unknown.
