Facebook Asks Supreme Court to Review Face Scan Decision

December 5, 2019

Facebook has filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to review a decision that allows lawsuits against Facebook for the unlawful collection of facial images. In Patel v. Facebook, the Ninth Circuit held that that an Illinois biometrics law protects "concrete privacy interests" and that violations of the law "pose a material risk of harm to those privacy interests." EPIC filed an amicus brief in the case, arguing that users can sue companies that violate rights protected by privacy laws. EPIC has long advocated for limits on the use of biometric data and has opposed Facebook's use of facial recognition software. EPIC and others recently called for a global moratorium on facial recognition. EPIC recently launched a campaign and resource page to ban face surveillance.

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