U.S. District Judge Lindsay Jenkins dismissed a class-action lawsuit alleging that Estée Lauder’s virtual “try on” tool violated Illinois’ biometric privacy law. The lawsuit alleges that Estée Lauder and its affiliated brands, including Bobbi Brown, Smashbox and Too Faced, collected facial scan data without proper consent.
The legal action also involves Perfect Corp, the Taiwanese company responsible for the technology. Judge Jenkins ruled that the plaintiffs failed to provide evidence that Estée Lauder had the ability to link facial scans to specific identities. Additionally, The Estée Lauder Companies’ case was dismissed due to insufficient ties to the state of Illinois.
The basis for the lawsuit is Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), which allows individuals to take legal action for mishandling biometric information. The rejection highlights the challenges in proving BIPA violations, particularly in establishing clear links between biometric data collection and issues related to personal identity.
