Walmart AI Voice System Allegedly Collected Illinois Callers' Voiceprints Without Consent
Walmart faces a proposed class action lawsuit alleging that its automated AI voice system unlawfully collects and stores the voiceprints of Illinois consumers who call their stores without adequate notice or consent, in violation of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act.
What happened
A proposed class action lawsuit claims that Walmart's automated AI voice system collects, stores, and uses voiceprints of Illinois consumers who call their local stores without their knowledge or consent.
The complaint alleges that while Walmart discloses in its privacy policy that it collects biometric information including voiceprints, this disclosure is inadequate for providing notice or obtaining consumer consent, and customers are forced to 'unknowingly surrender' their biometric data.
Reported impact
The lawsuit claims that voiceprints are unique biometric identifiers that cannot be changed once compromised, creating a critical need for privacy protections.
Index analysis
The complaint asserts that Walmart does not adequately inform consumers that their voiceprints are being collected, lacks a written data retention policy explaining the purpose and length for which the biometric identifiers are stored, and does not obtain consent before collecting biometric information.
The lawsuit alleges that Walmart captures voiceprints purportedly to reduce the risk of fraud.
Governance controls
The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) was enacted in 2008 to regulate companies' use of sensitive biometric data.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.