Revolut Accused of Playing Fast and Loose with Customers' Bio Data

<p>Revolut is in the legal crosshairs over allegations of biometric data
mishandling, potentially leading to hefty million-dollar damages in the US.</p><p>Revolut, <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/tag/revolut/">the payments
and fintech sensation</a>, finds itself on the precipice of a deep, deep legal chasm.
Accusations, filed in a Cook County report, assert that the company has engaged
in digital impropriety by unlawfully harvesting, storing, and utilizing
customers' biometric data. The latest lawsuit, full of contemporary privacy
concerns that are terrifying if you think about it, hints at potential trouble for
the financial maverick.</p><p>The Allegations </p><p>Revolut faces accusations of breaching privacy regulations in Illinois,
particularly the Biometric Information Privacy Act (<a href="https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=3004&amp;ChapterID=57">BIPA</a>).
The charge alleges that the <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/terms/f/fintech/">fintech</a> maestro, in its quest to identify customers, overlooked the concepts of transparency and consent, getting into
murky territory by withholding vital details on data usage, storage durations,
and potential liaisons with third parties.</p><blockquote><p lang="en" dir="ltr">London fintech Revolut could face million-dollar damages after biometric data lawsuit <a href="https://t.co/DS7wFKdIlH">https://t.co/DS7wFKdIlH</a></p>— Standard News (@standardnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/standardnews/status/1744835510751707319?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2024</a></blockquote><p>Revolut’s Identity Verification </p><p>Revolut's biometric pas de deux involves the use of 'selfies' – Yes.
Selfies. It’s allegedged that users are asked to take selfies in order to
verify their identity. These are then compared to passport or driver's license
photos. However, the court insists that the manner in which the images were
captured violated BIPA's terms, threatening Revolut with damages as high as
$5,000 for each transgression over the past half-decade. Ouff.</p><p>Tech Companies and Privacy</p><p>This isn’t the first time a tech company’s had issues around data
collection. While Facebook once paid a
jaw-dropping $650 million for breaching BIPA rules, Google managed to sidestep a
similar issue through clever lawyering. </p><p>Revolut's response? So far, silence. With over 35 million users worldwide, including a million in
the US, this lawsuit is certainly a concern Revolut's, especially after a $20
million loss to cyber pirates in a recent software vulnerability exploit. The
company also recently <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/uk-crypto-on-pause-why-are-revolut-and-others-halting-services/">paused
operations in the UK</a>. Will Revolut come out unscathed, or will they pay
through the nose? Only time will tell.</p><p>What is truly worrying, though, is the rate at which we hand over data,
including biometrics in our day-to-day lives. Phone numbers, email addresses,
those are understandable. Pictures of your face? Your fingerprints? Your voice?
It’s all very worrying. Of course, we know that much of this information is
stored on your devices, not on a company’s servers, but still… The dystopian
future crawls ever closer.</p>

This article was written by Louis Parks at www.financemagnates.com.