Significant changes to the state’s controversial Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) took effect during the week. The law was originally proposed to protect Illinois residents’ biometric data, but it created substantial unintended consequences, including multi-billion-dollar damage awards for situations that were never intended to be targets of the act.
Legislation was recently signed into law that amends the controversial BIPA statute, designed to reform digital privacy regulations and clarify the collection and use of biometric data in the state. This reform follows a suggestion from the Illinois Supreme Court in the spring of 2023 to address oversights in the original BIPA legislation.
While proponents argue that the new law intends to balance the protection of individual privacy rights with the need to reduce the legal and financial burdens on businesses, State Senator Sue Rezin, who voted against the measure when it came before the Senate earlier this year, contends that the new law doesn’t do enough to address the shortcomings and ambiguities within BIPA. Senator Rezin noted that rather than putting a Band-Aid on the issue, lawmakers should work together to reform BIPA to ensure that it protects citizens’ privacy while also ensuring businesses aren’t overly vulnerable or exposed to costly ambiguous interpretation.
Senate Bill 2979 was signed into law on August 2.