Illinois Instagram Users Could Get $$ From Lawsuit–Here’s How

So many companies, so many violations of Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), and so many payouts to settle class-action lawsuits. That's basically what's been happening the last couple of years here in the Land of Lincoln.

For those who don't know what exactly biometrics means, here's a pretty good summary from TechTarget.com:

Biometrics is the measurement and statistical analysis of people's unique physical and behavioral characteristics. The technology is mainly used for identification and access control or for identifying individuals who are under surveillance. The basic premise of biometric authentication is that every person can be accurately identified by intrinsic physical or behavioral traits. The term biometrics is derived from the Greek words bio, meaning life, and metric, meaning to measure.

Illinois Is One Of Three States That Currently Have Biometric Privacy Laws On The Books, But Several More State Have Introduced Legislation To Get Started

Other than Illinois, Washington and Texas have their own versions of BIPA, but Illinois is the only state that allows a "private right of action," or more simply, the ability to sue for damages.

More states are jumping on the BIPA bandwagon this year, though. Thus far in 2023, proposals for BIPA-like laws are popping up in these states: New York, Washington, Massachusetts, Arizona, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri Tennessee, Mississippi, Hawaii and Vermont.

Not surprisingly, most of those states are modeling their proposed laws after Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act, so it won't be long before we hear of big lawsuits and big settlements from across the country.

Let's Get To What You Came Here To Learn--If You're Eligible To Take Part, What To Do, And How Much Money You Might Receive From The Instagram Settlement

You may have already been through this sort of thing with Facebook, Google, TikTok, or Snapchat (all of them paid out varying sums of cash for their Illinois BIPA violations), and the Instagram settlement details are mostly similar.

Here are some of the details you'll need, from the lawsuit website (which you'll need to visit to file your claim), InstagramBipaSettlement.com:

• The proposed settlement is $68.5 million.
• A person is eligible for a payment if they used Instagram while in Illinois at any time between Aug. 10, 2015, and Aug. 16, 2023.
• The court in charge of this case still has to approve the settlement. Those affected have until Sept. 27, 2023, to submit a claim form.
• Payment will be from one of the following options: Venmo, Zelle, a prepaid MasterCard, or by check.
• Assuming you qualify, payment should come within 90 days of the approval of the settlement. Final approval of the settlement is scheduled for October 11th, 2023.