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The residents of Illinois who use Snapchat are supposedly qualified for payment between $58 and $117. They will collect payouts from Snap Inc., in a class-action privacy settlement attained this month. The legal dispute alleged filters and lenses on Snapchat were used to collect and store the biometric information of users. The platform doesn’t inform users and is considered a violation of biometric privacy law in Illinois.

However, Illinois maintains the most strict biometric privacy law in the United States. The residents of Illinois using filters and lenses since November 17, 2015, on Snapchat are qualified for a $35 million settlement. The attorneys estimated that around 3.8 million Illinois residents are eligible for the payment. They are advised to submit a claim form by November 5 to collect their payment after approval of the settlement.

The settlement was submitted to the 18th Judicial Circuit Court in DuPage County. It obtained initial approval from a judge on August 8. The dispute was actually submitted in downstate Williamson County in November 2020 prior to starting the settlement discussions this year. However, the final approval hearing in the dispute is reportedly scheduled for mid-November 2022.

Snap Inc. Rejected Claims of Any Wrongdoing

Meanwhile, Snap Inc. didn’t accept any wrongdoing in the settlement. The company is continuously refusing that its technology violated Illinois law. Snap also released an in-app permission notice in the states earlier this year and considered out of the prosperity of care. The company said lenses don’t collect biometric information to identify a specific person or are involved in facial recognition.

The company uses these lenses to determine an eye or a nose as part of a face. They are unable to determine an eye or a nose appropriate to any specific person. The company claimed the data was used to power lenses but not forwarded to the servers of the company. Moreover, the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act was passed in 2008.

A Federal Lawsuit was Submitted Against Snap in May

The Illinois law requires advance notification and permission prior to a private entity collecting and storing biometric information. The law is unusual because it enables private citizens to accuse companies. It has also led to a large number of legal disputes throughout the state and across the country. A federal proceeding was submitted against Snap in May due to its use of AR (augmented reality) filters.

The Judge granted a stay to Snap for that case on Monday until the Supreme Court issues a decision. The Illinois Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision on another biometric privacy battle engaging White Castle. Some Illinois Facebook users collected checks this spring of around $400. Facebook settled a $650 million class-action lawsuit for its facial tagging feature.

Google Reached a $100 Million Settlement in April

Google also reached a $100 million settlement in April after a dispute alleged the company for its face-grouping tool. This tool sorts similar faces on Google Photos and is involved in violating the law. A final approval hearing in the Google dispute is reportedly scheduled for September 2022. The final date for class members to deliver claim forms is September 24, 2022.

Attorneys said that all class members who appeared in an image on Google Photos in the last 7 years are eligible. Those eligible Illinois residents are qualified for a payment of between $200 and $400. Moreover, Meta also removed some AR (augmented reality) features in May. The company terminated filters and avatars from Instagram and Facebook in Illinois.