The Walt Disney Company is currently entangled in a class-action legal battle concerning the implementation of facial recognition technology at the entrances of its Disneyland theme park. The lawsuit alleges that the company has infringed upon the privacy rights of visitors and breached consumer protection laws.
According to the lawsuit, Disney has failed to adequately disclose the utilization of biometric data collection, leaving consumers, often including children, unaware of this collection of highly sensitive information. The legal action was initiated by New York-based lawyer Blake Hunter Yagman on behalf of lead plaintiff Summer Christine Duffield, a California parent who recently visited Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park with her children.
Disneyland has introduced facial recognition technology at the entrances of Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park to streamline reentry and deter fraud, as stated on the company’s website. Visitor images taken at the facial recognition entrance points are compared with those captured during the initial use of tickets or passes, with the images transformed into unique numerical values. The data is deleted within 30 days of creation, except when retention is necessary for legal or fraud-prevention reasons.
Although Disneyland has put up new signage and designated separate entrance lanes for individuals opting out of facial recognition, the lawsuit argues that the signage is easily overlooked, and the alternative entrances are insufficient and unclear. The lawsuit emphasizes that biometric information can be easily linked to personal records, such as credit cards or government-issued identification, creating a valuable dataset that could be exploited for fraudulent activities if breached.
The legal filing demands a minimum of $5 million in damages and stresses that guests should have the choice to explicitly consent to sensitive facial recognition technology, rather than having the burden of privacy rights placed on them involuntarily.