The Matrix

On October 12, 2022, a jury returned a verdict against the defendant, BNSF Railway Company (“BNSF”), in the first trial in a class action asserting claims under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”). Shortly thereafter, the Court entered a staggering judgment against BNSF in the amount of $228 million. To the extent that companies operating in Illinois have not already recognized the significant impact of BIPA, they should be paying attention now. While the case seemingly addressed a number of issues that companies have been grappling with in considering the implications of this law, many important questions about BIPA’s reach still persist.