Laura Balson in our Chicago office recently discussed an amendment to the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. At that time, the Illinois House and Senate had passed an amendment to Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, or “BIPA,” which was awaiting the signature of Gov, J.B. Pritzker (D). The amendment has now been signed and must be a consideration in BIPA litigation and in the use of biometric data.

Most significantly, the amendment specifies that an individual is limited to one recovery, even if there were multiple scans that violated the Act. This is good news for businesses.

The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, enacted in 2008, was designed to provide individuals with control over their biometric information and to establish standards for collection. The Illinois Supreme Court has recently issued three opinions interpreting provisions of the BIPA, two of which are likely to result in a spike in BIPA claims and related litigation.