The suit alleges that the company collected detailed facial maps and fingerprints of clients without consent.
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Inc. A class action lawsuit for allegedly collecting face templates and fingerprints of its clients without their consent, in violation of a new biometric privacy law in Illinois.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Francisco, alleges that Coinbase harvests facial data from IDs and personal photos that customers upload.
like mentioned By Bloomberg, the company also harvests fingerprint data when customers log into their accounts using the required fingerprint scanning technology. According to the lawsuit, the company’s collection and storage of this data exposes users to “serious and irreversible privacy risks.”
The case highlights a growing concern about data privacy and the need for companies to be transparent about how they collect and use user data, especially sensitive biometric information such as facial recognition and fingerprint data.
As more companies collect and store vital data, lawsuits like this one are likely to become more common, underscoring the importance of strong data privacy practices that work to prevent such sensitive information from being misappropriated in the first place.
While Bitcoin is an inherently transparent database, and many onramps that are often used to buy and sell bitcoin require full KYC (Know Your Customer) compliance, there are steps Bitcoin users can take to reduce private data leaks.