The latest Class Action alleges that T. Rowe Price unlawfully collects biometric voice prints of consumers
A recent class action lawsuit alleges that T. Rowe Price violates CIPA. It accuses T. Rowe Price Retirement Plans of “recording, examining, and using” biometric voice prints of consumers without their permission.
The California Invasion of Privacy Act, CIPA, regulates voice recognition systems
The use of voice recognition systems without permission is illegal under California’s Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA). More specifically, it forbids using “any voice prints or other voice stress patterns to determine the truth or falsity” of their statements through recording or examination.
Thus, “a voice print serves as audible “fingerprint” which can directly identify an individual and can even reveal the speaker’s behavioral traits”, alleges the Class Action complaint against T. Rowe.
Unlawful use of one’s biometric voiceprint is a breach of privacy and can pose a serious threat to one’s liberty. The purpose of CIPA is to prevent any unauthorized use of Californians’ biometric voice data and to prevent any breach of privacy that might result from its collection.
As a deterrent against the misuse of biometric voiceprints, CIPA allows Californians to recover damages up to $1,000 for each violation.
Penal Code Section 637.3, State of California (c)
The class action alleges that T. Rowe Price uses voice recognition to identify the callers’.
In the privacy section of its website, T. Rowe Price says it collects “Biometric Identifiers” such as “Voiceprints” that it uses to “identify and authenticate you” and for “security and risk management, fraud prevention, and similar purposes”.
California residents Gregory Moore, Jr. and Cecelia Lahr filed a class action lawsuit against T. Rowe Price Retirement Plan Services, Inc. on October 27. Plaintiffs seek to recover $1,000 for each violation for the California Class.
The Class Action complaint alleges that T. Rowe Price uses a system to listen to all of their consumer calls. “The software combines audio, voice, and artificial intelligence technologies to compare the callers’ voices to a comprehensive database of recordings and metrics.”
Furthermore, it claims that T. Rowe Price creates a biometric voiceprint for each caller, which they use to verify or disprove the caller’s identity. Thus, the organization can check the callers’ voiceprints to see if they’re who they say they are.
“The system Defendant uses is very similar to a Polygraph Test. Such a system is exactly what the California Legislature chose to regulate when it made it unlawful to use without express written consent.”
Other customers who have contacted T. Rowe Price over the phone may have suffered similar violations. Similarly as T. Rowe Price, other companies may be recording your calls and analysing your biometric voice prints without your knowledge or consent.
The CIPA Class Action was filed in the Southern District of California.
Moore et al v. T. Rowe Price Retirement Plan Services, Inc. – 3:22-cv-01673
The complaint alleges that Defendant confirms the identity of its customers by (1) recording the initial call with the customer, (2) listening to the recording for stress patterns and other characteristics, and (3) reviewing all subsequent calls from the customer and comparing the voice prints to those already on file for that customer.
According to the complaint, Defendant’s system uses the entire call’s audio to analyze the caller’s voice for acoustic and behavioral features, such as stress patterns, to determine the veracity of statements. Plaintiff Dillon claims that the method used by Defendant is eerily similar to the Polygraph. This is exactly the type of system that the California legislature set out to restrict.
District Court of Maryland has recently approved a $7 millions settlement for another Class Action against T. Rowe Price. If you are one of their subscribers, checkout the the Settlement Website for the T. Rowe Price 401 (k) Plan Settlement here.
Your privacy might be at risk too. Do you think someone could be recording your biometric voiceprints without your consent?
Have you spoken to any business which used a voice recognition system? Did you authorize them to use your biometric voice print?
Many businesses may be using your biometric voice prints without your knowledge or permission.
For instance, another CIPA TransUnion Class Action claimed similar CIPA violations. It accused TransUnion of using users’ biometric voice prints without consent.
Do you think someone used your voiceprints without your consent? Contact us immediately. Our team will look into it at no cost to you. In addition, you could recover $1,000 for every violation. Get in touch with us at ClassActionNews right away to speak with a class action attorney.
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