Court Splits McDonald's AI Drive-Thru Litigation, Some Claims Kicked Back To State Court

• Published date: 09 November 2021
• Subject Matter: Privacy, Technology, Privacy Protection, New Technology
• Law Firm: Squire Patton Boggs LLP
• Author: Ms Kristin L. Bryan

A federal court this week in the McDonald's AI litigation found that Plaintiff lacks Article III standing to pursue BIPA Section 15(a) and 15(c) claims. Consequently, it remanded these claims back to state court while letting other BIPA claims remain in federal court. Carpenter v. McDonald's Corporation, Case No. 1:21-cv-02906 (N.D. Ill.). This highlights an interesting divide in how BIPA claims are handled by federal district courts in wake of opinions recently issued by the Seventh Circuit regarding BIPA and standing.

Recall that the Carpenter complaint, which was initially filed in Illinois state court, alleges that "[i]n an effort to reduce costs and staff, beginning sometime in 2020 McDonald's implemented an artificial intelligence (AI) voice assistant in the drive through of various McDonald's restaurants across the nation, including in Illinois." Compl. ' 6. The crux of Plaintiff's claim is that "McDonald's AI voice assistant's voice recognition technology collects customers' voiceprint biometrics in order to be able to correctly interpret customer orders and to identify repeat customers to provide a tailored experience." However, "McDonald's has failed to comply with BIPA's regulations and does not notify its customers that when they interact with McDonald's AI voice assistant their voiceprint biometric information is used and collected, nor does McDonald's obtain their consent to do so." Compl. ' 8-9.

Plaintiff alleged that McDonald's violation BIPA Sections 15(a), 15(b), 15(c) and 15(d). After McDonald's removed the case to federal court, Plaintiff moved to remand claims brought under BIPA Section...