Washington, D.C. – U.S. Magistrate Judge Michelle L. Peterson has recommended that a suit alleging Amazon.com Inc. collected facial scans of teens playing NBA 2K without proper disclosures or consent should proceed. The suit, brought by Illinois resident Dominic Mayhall, claims Amazon and its subsidiary Amazon Web Services Inc. (AWS) violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).
Judge Peterson advised U.S. District Judge Tana Lin to deny Amazon’s motion to dismiss the case, stating that Mayhall sufficiently alleged Amazon knowingly obtained and disseminated biometric data without the required consent. According to the magistrate judge, Mayhall’s amended complaint contends that Amazon collected and shared facial scans from NBA 2K players with third-party gaming platforms, violating BIPA.
Denial of Amazon’s Motion to Dismiss Biometric Privacy Suit
Amazon has argued its immunity under the U.S. Communications Decency Act, claiming it acted merely as a passive cloud services provider for Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. and 2K Games Inc., the makers of NBA 2K. However, Judge Peterson’s recommendation emphasized that Amazon’s customer agreements and policies suggest it maintains some control over the data stored on its servers, challenging the company’s defense.
