Disney has been hit with a class-action lawsuit over accusations it has quietly gathered guests’ biometric data using hotly debated facial recognition technology at the gates of Disneyland.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in California federal court, claims the entertainment giant scans parkgoers’ faces at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure and compares the images to photos taken when guests first used their tickets or annual passes without properly informing visitors, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The complaint alleges Disney “does not adequately disclose their biometric collection, so consumers — which almost always include children — have no idea that Disney is collecting this highly sensitive data.”
Disney rolled out the facial recognition technology in April at entrances to Disneyland and its sister park, California Adventure. Company officials have said the system helps guests enter and reenter the parks more easily while also preventing fraud.
However, the lawsuit contends that most visitors are swept into the scans without realizing it and accuses Disney of failing to clearly explain how the technology works.
The filing points to signs at four entrances where guests can avoid the scans, though attorneys for the lawsuit argue that this does not constitute proper disclosure.
“Guests should be able to expressly opt in to this type of sensitive facial recognition technology with written consent — the onus of privacy rights should not be on the victim,” attorney Blake Yagman wrote in the complaint.
“Given how sensitive facial recognition data is, explicit written consent should be required to protect the privacy of guests at Disney Theme Parks.”
The complaint also cites the growing use of facial recognition at sports and entertainment venues, where companies increasingly rely on it to combat fraud, enhance security and speed up crowd movement, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The filing notes Madison Square Garden in New York City has used facial recognition technology to ban “enemies” of owner James Dolan from entering the venue, while other companies have allegedly turned over biometric data to law enforcement.
Disney’s privacy policy states that biometric data collected through the system is deleted within 30 days unless needed for legal or fraud-prevention purposes.
But the lawsuit pushes back, insisting this claim cannot hold up since biometric data is matched to images taken when guests first purchase tickets or passes and link their photos to those tickets or passes.
The complaint goes further, alleging that Disney gathers biometric data through other park programs like MagicBand and PhotoPass, and that this trove of information is used to build detailed consumer profiles across its many businesses.
The proposed class-action suit seeks at least $5 million for park visitors who say they were swept up by the facial recognition system without their knowledge.
The filing comes after Disney last year paid $10 million to settle a Federal Trade Commission complaint over the collection of children’s data on YouTube videos.
