A group of plaintiffs alleged that The Walt Disney Company violated privacy laws due to its misuse of facial recognition technology at theme park entrances, The Hill reports.
The class action lawsuit was filed in the Southern District Court of New York on behalf of Riverside County, California resident Summer Duffield, who visited Disneyland and Disney California Adventure in early May of this year.
The lawsuit alleges that Disney began collecting biometric data from visitors, including minors, at its park entrances in late April without proper consent and without being fully transparent about the use of that data.
“Unfortunately, Disney theme park visitors, including Plaintiff Duffield and others in the class action, were completely unaware that their biometric information—information that is more durable than a Social Security number and cannot be replaced or altered—was being collected without proper consent,” the lawsuit states.
According to the company's privacy policy, biometric data is used to speed up re-entry of visitors to the park and prevent fraud. The system takes a photograph of the guest's face upon entry and associates the image with a ticket or membership through a unique numeric identifier. This identifier is subsequently used to verify identity on repeat visits. However, the company claims that visitors can opt out of using the technology and use alternative entry queues.
“We respect and protect the privacy of our guests and dispute the plaintiff's allegations, which we believe are without merit,” Jessica Jakari, a Disneyland Resort spokeswoman, said in a statement to The Hill.
Although Disney claims that all information is deleted after 30 days, the lawsuit's authors argue that this contradicts the company's claims about the reuse of numeric identifiers associated with biometrics. The plaintiffs insist that visitors must give express written consent to the collection and storage of biometric data, the Associated Press reports.
Some complaints relate to the organization of the entrance to the park. Queues where facial recognition technology is not used are allegedly not clearly marked – the corresponding aisles are marked only with a crossed-out silhouette of a head and shoulders.
“There are dozens of park entry lines, but only four of them, according to unclear signage, allegedly do not use facial recognition technology. Visitors, let alone children, cannot consciously choose to avoid data collection,” said Duffield attorney Blake Yagan.
The lawsuit seeks at least $5 million in damages for allegations that it violated California privacy laws and the Federal Trade Commission Act, which protects consumers from deceptive and unfair trade practices.
