When it comes to biometric privacy, all eyes seem to be focused on the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), which is quickly developing into the nation's next class action battleground. But other state privacy statutes that may have gone under the radar also have important implications for the larger patchwork of biometric laws.

For instance, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which went into effect at the start of the year, directly implicates a wide swath of entities collecting/using the biometric data of California residents—even if the entity does not maintain any physical presence in the state. The CCPA also poses a significant risk of class action litigation. Taken together, all companies handling biometric data and falling under the scope of the CCPA must take immediate action to ensure strict compliance with California's game-changing privacy law to mitigate the substantial risk of exposure.

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CCPA Overview

Aside from applying to a broad range of business entities, the CCPA contains a far-reaching definition of "personal information" which includes—among other things—biometric data. In fact, the CCPA actually defines the term in a more expansive manner than BIPA.