Smartphone users sue Motorola to force arbitration

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Thousands of Illinois smartphone users are suing Motorola Mobility, in an attempt to force the company into arbitration regarding alleged biometric privacy violations that occur when taking photographs, reports The Chicago Tribune.

According to a copy of the complaint, filed Monday in Cook County Circuit Court, Motorola Mobility allegedly “brazenly breached” its own arbitration provision when the company refused to pay a $7.2 million filing fee in a February mass arbitration claim, Tribune reported.

According to Tribune, the arbitration action alleges Motorola violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act by “surreptitiously” collecting personal data from users’ selfie photos without permission. Motorola sells Moto, Razr and Edge devices with “high-powered cameras” that use facial recognition and artificial intelligence to identify and store the selfie image, according to the complaint.

Tribune noted, more than 1 million Illinois Facebook collected as much as $435 each in the groundbreaking privacy settlement, including a third and final check for $7.20 that went out in October.