From automatically tagging photos of friends on social media to confirming purchases with a fingerprint, consumers frequently use biometrics in their everyday lives to add convenience, improve security, and create economic value. But in Illinois, the Biometric Information Privacy Act has placed onerous restrictions on how biometrics can be used commercially. As a result, businesses that offer applications wholly unrelated to the original focus of the law are now becoming the target of litigation in Illinois. Legislators should move quickly to amend this law to protect consumers while still allowing innovation to flourish, say Alan McQuinn and Daniel Castro in the Illinois State Journal-Register.
