If Photos or Images of Your Face Have Been Posted to a Publicly Accessible Webpage on the Internet, You may be Entitled to Money

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United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Jul 25, 2024, 08:00 ET

CHICAGO, July 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- A proposed Settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit against Clearview AI, Inc. ("Clearview"), Hoan Ton-That, Richard Schwartz, Thomas Mulcaire, Rocky Mountain Data Analytics LLC, Macy's, Inc., Macy's Retail Holdings, Inc., n/k/a Macy's Retail Holdings, LLC, and Macy's Corporate Services, Inc., n/k/a Macy's Corporate Services, LLC (the "Defendants").

The lawsuit claims that the Defendants violated provisions of the privacy and computer data protection laws of various states when they collected individuals' facial images (which were posted to public websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Flickr, Pinterest, and others), stored the collected data in a searchable biometric "facial recognition" database, and then sold or acquired access to that database.

Am I a Settlement Class Member?

In this lawsuit, there are multiple classes.

First, there is a Nationwide Class, defined as:

All individuals who reside or resided in the United States of America whose facial images and/or Biometric Data are or were contained in the Biometric Database.

Because this lawsuit also involves specific violations of state laws, there are also multiple statewide subclasses as follows:

The California Subclass, defined as all individuals who reside or resided in the state of California whose facial images and/or Biometric Data were or are contained in the Biometric Database.
The Illinois Subclass, defined as all individuals who reside or resided in the state of Illinois whose facial images and/or Biometric Data were or are contained in the Biometric Database.
The New York Subclass, defined as all individuals who reside or resided in the state of New York whose facial images and/or Biometric Data were or are contained in the Biometric Database.
The Virginia Subclass, defined as all individuals who reside or resided in the state of Virginia whose facial images and/or Biometric Data were or are contained in the Biometric Database.

You may be a member of one or more Classes. A copy of the Settlement Agreement and the main case documents are available here: www.ClearviewClassAction.com.

If you are still not sure whether you are included in the Classes, you can call the Settlement Administrator at 1-888-851-3156 or you can get free help by contacting the lawyers in this case.

What does the Settlement provide?

The Settlement provides for the creation of a Settlement Fund based on the occurrence of various events triggering Clearview's obligation to fund the Settlement Fund. The amount of the Settlement Fund will vary based on the triggering event which are detailed in case documents available at www.ClearviewClassAction.com.

How much money will I receive from the Settlement?

As a Class Member, you are entitled to receive payments from the Settlement Fund if you submit a valid Claim Form. If you submit an Approved Claim, you will be entitled to a pro rata amount of the Settlement Stake based upon each of the Classes of which you are a member. For more details visit www.ClearviewClassAction.com.

The Court in charge of this case still has to decide whether to approve the Settlement. Payments will be made if the Court approves the Settlement, any appeals are resolved, and an event occurs obligating Clearview to establish the Settlement Fund. Please be patient.

Your Options.

If you received a Claim Form via U.S. mail or email, you may submit that Claim Form by following the instructions on the Claim Form. You may also submit a Claim Form online or by requesting a paper Claim Form from the Settlement Administrator. Claim Forms must be postmarked or submitted online by October 25, 2024.

You can also exclude yourself from, or object to the Settlement on or before September 20, 2024. If you do not exclude yourself from the Settlement, you will remain in the Class and will give up the right to sue the Defendants about the legal issues in this litigation.

If you do nothing and you are a member of one or more Classes, you will receive no payment under the Settlement, you will be in the Settlement Class, and if the Court approves the Settlement, you will also be bound by all orders and judgments of the Court.

A summary of your rights under the Settlement and instructions regarding how to submit a claim, exclude yourself, or object are available at www.ClearviewClassAction.com.

When and where will the Court decide whether to approve the Settlement?

The Court will hold the final fairness hearing on January 8, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. CST. The purpose of the hearing is for the Court to determine whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate, and in the best interests of the Class. At the hearing, the Court will hear any objections and arguments concerning the fairness of the proposed Settlement, including those related to the amount requested by Class Counsel for attorneys' fees and expenses and the incentive award to the Class Representatives. You do not need to attend the hearing, but are welcome to come at your own expense. You may also pay a lawyer to attend, but you don't have to.

How do I get more information?

This notice summarizes the proposed Settlement. For the precise terms and conditions of the settlement, please see the Settlement Agreement available at www.ClearviewClassAction.com.

URL: www.ClearviewClassAction.com.

SOURCE United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois