Christopher Ward Comments on the Business Law Surrounding Facial Biometric Data

Foley & Lardner LLP Partner Christopher Ward was quoted in a Dark Reading article, “Legal Cases and Privacy Rulings Aim to Curtail Facial Biometrics,” about the pending lawsuits against a tech company’s use of facial biometric data. The article also covers the potential security, privacy, and safety risks for individuals if their biometric identifiers are used involuntarily.

Ward said, “The travails of Clearview AI underscore the problems that innovative technology firms face when forging ahead with new technology. While the US does not have a federal biometric privacy law, five states have already passed such legislation, although only two have any teeth, such as the ability to bring private legal actions.”

“The Illinois law is where all the action is — in the short term, the primary focus of the legal arena is going to be a money grab until the gravy train runs out,” Ward says, adding that business law will always trail behind technology. “The law moves a lot more slowly than technology does, and we are still working on a lot of wage and hourly employment issues dating back to the New Deal.”