Amazon Just Walk Out Tech Violates Illinois Privacy Law, Says Class Action

Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh used Just Walk Out (JWO) technology to collect, use, store and disseminate three Illinois residents’ biometric information and data when they entered a store, regardless of whether they made a purchase, said a privacy class action (docket 1:23-cv-15634) removed Friday from Cook County Circuit Court to U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois in Chicago.

JWO uses sensors, cameras, machine learning and AI to automatically detect when products are removed from store shelves and keep track of them in a virtual cart, said the complaint. During that process, Amazon collects, uses, stores and disseminates images of shoppers’ bodies -- including their faces and hands -- plus voice prints. It processes that data using a computer algorithm, then processes payment when customers exit the store, creating a “frictionless shopping experience,” it said.

The “massive amounts of shopper biometric data" collected and used by Amazon are being used to train “complex surveillance technology” in violation of Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), said the complaint. No federal question is presented by the complaint, and plaintiffs brought the case “solely under state law" and not under federal law, the Constitution or any federal statute, rule or regulation, it said. Amazon’s removal notice said the federal court has original jurisdiction because under the Class Action Fairness Act, the suit is a putative class action, diversity of citizenship is sufficient and plaintiffs seek over $5 million in damages.

Plaintiffs Stefan Rebic, Nate Dluzak and Olivia Van Housen entered Amazon Fresh or Go stores in Illinois at times between 2021 and May. They weren’t given written disclosures about the collection, use, storage or dissemination of their biometric data, nor did they give Amazon informed written consent before entering the stores, said the complaint. Amazon violated, and continues to violate, BIPA by failing “to establish a publicly available policy establishing a retention schedule and guidelines for permanently destroying biometric data obtained from customers entering establishments that use JWO in Illinois,” it said.

While Amazon advertises that JWO technology offers a “futuristic and efficient shopping experience,” it is “much more,” said the complaint, calling it “a sophisticated system that captures a customer's most personal biometric data, associates that data with purchasing behavior, and integrates that information into its vast retail and marketing network.”

Each JWO interaction “improves Amazon's software by building its database of information, which the company then utilizes to enhance its own retail strategies and personalized marketing efforts to maximize profits,” said the complaint.

Amazon also “markets and sells” JWO technology to other retailers looking for “advanced solutions for in-store management with minimal human labor costs,” the complaint said. By using JWO in its stores, and selling JWO technology, Amazon is “profiting from the collection, use, storage, and dissemination of every JWO shopper's biometric data,” the complaint said. That’s in violation of BIPA, which makes it unlawful for any "private entity in possession of a biometric identifier or biometric information" to "sell, lease, trade, or otherwise profit from a person's or a customer's biometric identifier or biometric information,” it said.

Plaintiffs seek injunctive and equitable relief, including liquidated damages of $5,000 or actual damages for each of Amazon’s intentional or reckless BIPA violations, $1,000 or actual damages for each negligent BIPA violation, and attorneys’ fees and costs, the complaint said.