Illinoisans Who Filed A Claim Against Google: Here’s What You Get

Multiple companies have run afoul of Illinois' Biometric Privacy Act (BIPA) in recent years, which has resulted in hundreds of thousands of Illinois residents getting a payout from settlement agreements with class action lawsuits.

The latest is the settlement of a multi-million dollar class-action lawsuit by Google over their violation of BIPA, just like we saw with Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, and Walmart. TikTok agreed to a $92 million settlement recently, a $35 million settlement was reached with Snapchat, and over 1,000,000 Illinois users got checks from Facebook after they settled their $650 million class-action lawsuit in Illinois.

Now, it's Google's turn to pay out, which leaves us with the question of how much money Illinois' participants in the BIPA suit against Google will get once everything is settled up.

Let's Start With The Settlement Amount That Google Has Agreed To In Their BIPA Case

One hundred million dollars. That's a pretty big number, until you consider how many people are involved in the case, and how much that total amount of $100 million is going to be carved up amongst everyone.

For those who don't know, here's a quick explainer of what Illinois' BIPA law is (hat-tip to NBCChicago.com):

...prohibits private sector companies and institutions from collecting biometric data from unsuspecting citizens in the state or online, no matter where the business is based. Data cannot be sold, transferred or traded. Unlike any other state, citizens can sue for alleged violations, which has sparked hundreds of David-and-Goliath legal battles against some of the world’s most powerful companies.

If a company is found to have violated Illinois law, citizens can collect civil penalties up to $5,000 per violation compounded by the number of people affected and days involved. No state regulatory agency is involved in enforcement.

If You Took Part In The Class-Action Lawsuit Against Google, Your Piece Of The Action Will Be Less Than The $400 Payout Illinois Users Got From Facebook, But More Than Snapchat's Or TikTok's Payouts To Settle Their Cases

Unfortunately, if you're just now hearing about this, it's too late to get involved. Eligibility was limited to those who "if, at any time between May 1, 2015 and April 25, 2022, you appeared in a photograph in Google Photos while you were an Illinois resident." The deadline to get your claim in was September 24th of last year.

If you were eligible, and you submitted your claim on time, here's how much money you should expect to receive:

$95.

That's what each of the nearly 700,000 Illinois residents who took part in the class-action lawsuit will be receiving, probably in around 90 days from now, assuming there are no appeals in the case.

If you want more information, click here to be taken to the lawsuit website.