Estée Lauder Companies faces class action suit over failure to disclose virtual facial scan collection practices 

THE WHAT? Estée Lauder Companies is facing a class action lawsuit over its failure to disclose a collection of consumers’ biometric facial scans in Illinois, according to ClassActiong.org. 

THE DETAILS? According to the filing, there is concern over facial scanning technology, with ELC said to fall short of the clear mandates set by Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).

The company is said to have ‘refused’ to inform or gain consent from those using the Virtual Try-One tool before collecting their facial recognition. 

Consumers are presented with a link to ELC’s privacy policy when using the tool, rather than receiving a comprehensive disclosure of the company’s capture of their facial scans. 

However, the privacy policy doesn’t include the disclosure that ELC collects, captures, possesses or otherwise obtains consumers’ sensitive biometric data, according to the suit.  

THE WHY? The complaint states that “Estée Lauder has violated [the] BIPA-and continues to violate [the] BIPA-each and every time a website visitor based in Illinois uses the Virtual Try-On tool, because Estée Lauder continues to collect and store or facilitate the storage of biometric information or biometric identifiers without disclosure to or consent of any of the consumers who try on cosmetics on their website, necessarily using Estée Lauder’s Virtual Try-On tool to do so.”

Looking to cover all consumers whose biometric identifiers were captured using ELC’s YouCam Makeup-powered tool in Illinois over the last four years, ELC is required to disclose in writing the “specific purpose and length of term” for which the biometric data will be collected, stored and used, according to the suit.