Google has begun paying out compensation to Illinois residents as part of a $100 million settlement deal, resulting from claims the internet giant had been “storing biometric data” without the necessary consent, in violation of state law.
On June 2 a Cook County Circuit Court, where the case had been heard, ordered that payments must begin “on or before July 7, 2023,” with NBC Chicago reporting those entitled to compensation received $95.38 each.
Any Illinois resident was eligible to make a claim if they were included in a Google Photos image at any point between May 1, 2015 and April 25, 2022, but claims had to be filed by September 24, 2022.
The legal action stems from Illinois’ 2008 Biometric Information Privacy Act, which banned companies from collecting biometric information, such as individual finger prints and photographs, without the necessary authorization.
Court documents filed on May 31 revealed 687,484 Illinois residents had submitted valid claims for compensation, and would be entitled to around $95 each.
This money was what was left of the $100 million settlement, once court fees and legal expenses had been deducted.
In a statement about the case sent to Newsweek, Google spokesperson José Castañeda said: “We’re pleased to resolve this matter relating to specific laws in Illinois, and we remain committed to building easy-to-use controls for our users. Google Photos can group similar faces to help you organize pictures of the same person so you can easily find old photos and memories. Of course, all this is only visible to you and you can easily turn off this functionality if you choose.”
A number of those claiming to have received compensation went on social media to express their delight.
One Twitter user posted a message saying Google had sent them $95.38, along with an order from Taco Bell. They wrote: “Got the Google lawsuit money, eating Gucci tonight.”
Got the Google lawsuit money, eating Gucci tonight 😏 pic.twitter.com/CfZpZsVZWR
— RJ (@rga_02) July 7, 2023
A second user said “just got my Google lawsuit cash,” and combined this with a GIF, or short video, of an excited Oprah Winfrey filmed in 1997.
Just got my Google lawsuit cash pic.twitter.com/ch2FN69qM5
— Tony نعیم (@StrengthBuild) July 7, 2023
Angeles Romero, another Twitter user, posted: “Did anyone else just get a settlement from Google? There’s so many Illinois data privacy lawsuits floating around it’s hard to keep track of which ones have been settled. Not quite as much as first Facebook settlement, but thank you Big Data!”
Did anyone else just get a settlement from Google? There’s so many Illinois data privacy lawsuits floating around it’s hard to keep track of which ones have been settled. Not quite as much as first Facebook settlement, but thank you Big Data! pic.twitter.com/vKitzeElSQ
— Angeles Romero (@angeles524) July 8, 2023
In September 2022 the Chicago Tribune reported around 420,000 compensation claims were made, which they projected would lead to about $150 per claimant, but the final figure was significantly lower due to a surge in the number of claims.
In May 2022 Facebook began paying out compensation to Illinois residents as part of a $650 million settlement deal due to a separate case brought under Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy.
A major Supreme Court ruling sided with Google in a 9-0 judgment, concluding the company is not liable when groups or individuals use a platform it owns to publish extremist material. Google had been accused of aiding and abetting international terrorism after videos backing the Islamic State (ISIS) militant group were posted on YouTube, which the company owns.
The case had been brought by the family of Nohemi Gonzalez, a 23-year-old college exchange student was gunned down by ISIS-supporting gunmen at a Paris restaurant in November 2015.
The settlement should have been 100 billion.