The Illinois Appellate Court, First District, recently ruled that Gunnar Optiks LLC, a California-based eyewear retailer, must face a lawsuit alleging its “virtual try-on” software for nonprescription sunglasses violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). The company had argued that its activities fell under a health-care exclusion in BIPA, claiming that capturing facial geometry scans of individuals trying on sunglasses without their consent was protected. However, the court determined that this exclusion doesn’t apply because an individual virtually trying on nonprescription sunglasses isn’t considered a “patient” in a “health care setting.”
The decision clarifies that technology used to enhance consumer experience through nonprescription eyewear does not fall within the same protective scope as medical or healthcare-related technology under BIPA. This sets a precedent for the ongoing debate surrounding the scope of privacy protections in non-medical contexts.
The lawsuit against Gunnar Optiks underscores the necessity for companies employing biometric data for commercial purposes to ensure compliance with state privacy laws, particularly in Illinois, which has been at the forefront of biometric privacy legislation.
For more details, you can read the full article on Bloomberg Law.