A federal judge has denied Target’s request to dismiss a lawsuit accusing the retailer of illegally collecting customers’ biometric data.
The class action lawsuit, filed in May in federal court in Illinois, accuses Target of capturing and storing consumers’ biometric data, including “scans of their facial geometry,” without giving them written notice or consent as required by the Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), passed in Illinois in 2008.
The lawsuit, filed by four Illinois women who shop at Target on behalf of Illinois shoppers, notes that Target has installed cameras to monitor stores for shoplifting and uses facial recognition software. The women say neither they nor consumers have been told how data, including its similarity, is used or how long it will be kept — something they say is required by Illinois law.
Target had asked to dismiss the lawsuit because the women’s claims were not based on their own factual knowledge, but on news reports, including a 2018 CBS Evening News story about Target’s National Investigation Center just north of Minneapolis , where investigators can see video from all Target stores.
One of the women alleges in the lawsuit that a Target Loss Prevention employee followed her as she walked through a store and that a Target Asset Protection Operations Manager viewed her LinkedIn profile shortly after she entered the store.
Here’s what you need to know about the case, including more about the judge’s order.
A customer is paying at Target.
More about the judge’s order allowing a trial
In his order allowing the trial to proceed Thursday, District Judge Jeremy Daniel said the “allegations form a narrative that will hold up.”
“This is not a case where the complaint ‘provides no basis for alleging that (the defendant) disclosed (the plaintiff’s) biometric data’; Rather, it is a case in which plaintiffs assert a legitimate reason why they believe Target violated BIPA, which is sufficient to survive the motion to dismiss,” he said.
Target Facial Recognition Amended complaint by Mike Snider on Scribd
Target has until December 13 to respond to the complaint. USA TODAY has reached out to Target for comment.
A similar lawsuit, filed in March in Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois, was voluntarily dismissed in May.
Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & microphone snider.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lawsuit accusing Target of collecting biometric data moves forward
