Starbucks' Unlawful Biometric Data Collection
A class action lawsuit against Starbucks was filed (see complaint) in a federal court in New York alleging the company’s automated collection of customers’ biometric data at Starbucks shops next to Amazon Go stores violated New York law and people’s right of privacy.
Currently, there are two "Starbucks–Amazon Go stores" in NYC. One is at 111 E. 59th Street and the other is at 620 8th Avenue.
If you’ve shopped at either of these two, and were not aware that your biometric data was being collected and possibly shared, please let us know. Please fill out the form below or email starbucks@pollockcohen.com for a free consultation.
What is Biometric Data?
Biometric data can include your body measurements, your eye color, your face shape, your gait, and other individual characteristics. Amazon collects this information every time you walk into an Amazon Go store. Have you ever noticed the dozens of sensors on the store’s ceiling? You probably haven’t; but they certainly have noticed you.
This cutting-edge technology is the engine behind Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” strategy which allows customers to bypass cashiers. The combination of individual characteristics and movement data may be the latest adaptation of cool tech; or an invasion of personal privacy by Big Brother – depending on one’s perspective. But in either case, it is illegal under New York law without the customer’s consent.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a customer who visited the Starbucks store with the technology in November 2022 and a proposed class of tens of thousands of Starbucks customers. The complaint alleges that from January 15, 2022, when the law’s implementing rule went into effect, to March 13, 2023, Starbucks failed to post any sign at the stores about the collection or sharing of biometric data. On March 13, 2023, a few days after the New York Times reported Amazon’s failure to disclose is collection of biometric data, Starbucks posted signs stating that it only collects this data from customers who opt into the optional palm scanner program. However, Starbucks collects and shares biometric data on all customers who enter the gated area of the store.
If you have visited abovementioned Starbucks stores in New York City, we would love to hear from you. Please fill out the form below, call us at (646) 290-8433, or email starbucks@pollockcohen.com, and our firm promptly will contact you for a free consultation. You might be able to join this class action lawsuit.
FAQs
A class action lawsuit is a way for a group of people who have suffered similar harms to bring a single collective case and share in any potential award. You become part of a group, with far more potential power than filing a lawsuit on your own—and at no cost to you.
Filing a class action lawsuit allows us to consolidate evidence, witnesses, and litigation expenses to make the lawsuit more efficient and effective. The collective “clout” of the class is typically far more effective than an action by any individual plaintiff.
No! The attorneys work on contingency, and only get paid if the case is successful. Any fees they may be awarded are determined by the court and paid by the defendant.
