Google's $100 Million Photo Privacy Settlement: You Could Be Entitled to Receive Up to $400 - CNET

Google agreed this spring to settle a $100 million class-action lawsuit alleging the search giant illicitly uses a facial-recognition program to sort pictures in Google Photos' Face Grouping feature. If your likeness appeared in a picture stored on Google Photos you may be eligible for a nice chunk of the payout -- but time is running out to claim your share.

Plaintiffs in Rivera, et al. v. Google argue that Google Photos collects, stores and organizes pictures of residents as part of its Face Grouping feature "without proper notice and consent," a violation of Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act. The 2008 state law requires companies that use facial recognition programs, fingerprint scans and other biometric tools on Illinois residents to receive informed consent from them.

Though Google denied any wrongdoing, it agreed to the multi-million-dollar payout in May.

Class members could get as much as $400 each, according to the plaintiffs' attorneys, but the deadline to file a claim is Sept. 24. Four days later, a final court hearing will determine whether the settlement and associated legal fees are "fair, reasonable, and adequate" before any payments are issued.

Here's what you need to know about the Google Photo biometric privacy case, including who's eligible for a payment, how much they could receive and when they might receive your money.

For more on class-action settlements, find out if you're eligible for money from Capital One's $190 million payout, ...

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