According to a class-action lawsuit filed in California District Court, the exchange’s Know Your Customer (KYC) client photo upload requirement violates the Illinois Biometric Privacy Act (BIPA).
This law implies that in order to collect information, Coinbase must obtain permission from users and indicate the purpose of collecting biometric data, how long it will be stored, how it will be used, and whether it will be permanently destroyed by Coinbase.
“Coinbase has not published a policy establishing a data retention schedule and principles for the irretrievable destruction of biometric information,” the lawsuit states.
The plaintiff claims that biometric authentication, namely a fingerprint or face scan, is also used in the Coinbase mobile application to verify a user when logging into his account. The user fears that the collection, receipt, storage and use of this data exposes them to serious risks, since if the exchange database is hacked, Coinbase will not be able to prevent the leakage of personal data.
The plaintiff urged Coinbase to permanently destroy the biometric data of users, since this information was only intended to open an account. In addition, the user requested that Coinbase pay damages of $5,000 for willful violation of BIPA or pay $1,000 if the court finds that the alleged violations were not committed intentionally, as well as reimburse attorneys’ fees and court costs.
Recall that in February, the court rejected a class-action lawsuit by investors against Coinbase, who accused the exchange of unregistered sale of securities.
Source: Bits
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