Class Action BIPA Lawsuit Against Manufacturer Of Dashcam Technology Moves Forward In Illinois

• Published date: 15 July 2022
• Subject Matter: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration, Technology, Class Actions, Security, Media
• Law Firm: Tactical Law Group LLP
• Author: Tactical Law Group LLP

In David Karling, et. Al. v. Samsara, Inc., a federal court in the Northern District of Illinois has declined to dismiss a class action complaint brought under the Illinois Biometric Information & Privacy Act ('BIPA'), by a truck driver against a maker of facial recognition camera technology. The plaintiff alleged that Samsara was liable because the dash cam installed by his employer took facial scans, and Samsara collected those scans and shared them with the employer without complying with BIPA's requirements. Plaintiff David Karling, on behalf of himself and a putative class, alleges that Defendant Samsara Inc. ("Samsara"), violated BIPA by collecting his information from facial scans without notice or release; disseminating that information to third parties; failing to create, disclose and adhere to a written policy for data retention and destruction; and profiting from these actions.

What is the Case About?

The court describes the facts of the case as follows:

'Samsara provides facial recognition software and sensors to commercial fleets and industrial operations. The Samsara cameras capture the actions of the drivers to monitor for fatigue and distraction. Karling worked in Illinois as a driver for Lily Transportation, a customer of Samsara. In 2021, Lily Transportation installed an AI Dash Camera, provided by Samsara, in Karling's truck. The AI Dashcam extracted biometric identifiers from Karling's face while he drove and sent them to the Samsara Cloud Dashboard, where Samsara stored the images. The Samsara Camera includes a feature called Camera ID, which automatically performed facial recognition to identify Karling by extracting biometric identifiers and comparing those to the stored data. Karling never gave permission for the collection and storage of his biometric data. Samsara never provided Karling with a written release, the required statutory disclosures, or a retention and destruction policy. Karling never signed a written release or had an opportunity to prevent this collection and use of his biometric data.'

Samsara moved to dismiss the Complaint on a number of grounds including that federal law governing truck safety technology preempted the state law-based BIPA claims. Samsara also argued that BIPA as applied to it, violated the Dormant Commerce Clause, as BIPA places a great burden on 'interstate motor carriers and their technology providers and would substantially interfere with interstate commerce' by unconstitutionally projecting...