Good Lifestyle

Millions of people in the United States choose to give theirBusiness to Walmart Every day of the year. In return, the company promises toFirst put its customers- including by protecting the safety of these buyers. But at least one Walmart client now says that the retailer is doing the opposite. A trial has just been filed against Walmart, alleging that the company endangers buyers with one of its security protocols. Read the rest to know why Walmart is now under fire.

Read this then:Walmart and Dollar General are under fire for doing this to buyers.

The use of video cameras in Walmart stores has been well documented over the years. In 2019, the retailer confirmed to the initiate that he usesSecurity surveillance cameras In more than 1,000 stores to monitor the funds and dissuade potential flight in its stores. More recently, former employees have produced Tiktok videos saying that WalmartSecurity cameras are so high-tech that theycan really zoom And see exactly what you look at on your phone.

But although Walmart has not verified these specific claims on its major surveillance capacities, it refers to its use of cameras in store on its website. "We can collect your personal information from the technology we use in our stores, such as our installation cameras," said the company. "We exploit cameras in reserve for safety and operating purposes, for example, to help us improve the design of our stores to better serve our customers."AE0FCC31AE342FD3A1346EBB1F342FCB

But now the use of this technology is questioned in a new trial provided against the large -scale retailer.

A Walmart buyer has filed aNew collective recourse Against the retailer before an American district court in the South Illinois district on September 1. The pursuit, taken by the applicantJames Luthe, alleys that Walmart collects, storage and uses the biometric data of customers without their consent via their cameras and video surveillance systems in advance. "Biometrics are unique physical characteristics, such as fingerprints, which can be usedFor automated recognition, "According to the American Department of Internal Security (DHS).

"Walmart stores in Illinois are equipped with advanced cameras and video surveillance systems that - unknown for customers - collect, collect, have or otherwise obtain biometric data," said Luthe costume. The applicant alleges that he has entered Walmart stores in the state many times in the past three years without being informed that the retailer would collect, obtain, store and / or use his biometric identifiers or his biometric information.

Better life contacted Walmart to comment on the trial, but has not yet heard.

RELATED:For more up-to-date information, register for our daily newsletter.

Walmart collect, store and use the biometric data of customers would violate the law of Illinois, according to Luthe's trial. State legislature adopted theIllinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) In 2008, which required “entities, including employers, who collect biometric data to follow aNumber of protocols, "PerThe National Law Review. He is still "One of the most difficult laws"In the United States, with regard to the protection of biometric data, according to law firm Jackson Lewis P.C. Among its main characteristics, there is the need to allow people to consent to the collection of their biometric data, and Clear directives on how this information is stored and used.

"Walmart does not inform customers of this fact before the store entry, and it does not obtain consent before collecting the biometric data of its customers," said Luther's trial. "In addition, Walmart does not provide a policy accessible to the public establishing a retention calendar and directives to definitively destroy this biometric data."

According to the best collective remedies, this law has been promulgated to protect biometric information from people. "Unlike social security numbers or other data that can be modified if compromised, biometric information is unique to an individual," said the media. "If a person's biometric information is compromised, it has no recourse and has an increased risk of identity theft, has determined the Illinois legislative assembly."

This is not the first time that Walmart has been on the hot seat due to similar technology. The retailer filed a patent application for a "Biometric feedback basket handle design"On the purchase baskets in 2018, which could be used to follow things like the heart rate of a buyer and the body temperature, reported Retailwire. According to the media, it was called" frightening "and" intrusive "by Many customers, and there has not been an update on the potential deployment of this technology in the past four years.

More recently in January 2021, Walmart wasforced to pay $ 10 million To some of its employees in Illinois after having set a collective appeal on the use by the retailer of a palm scanning device which has collected biometric information, theChicago tribune reported. The trial alleged that Walmart had forced employees to use a palm scanner to access a recycler system in cash without obtaining their written consent from January 2014 to February 2018, when the use of scanners ended in stores Walmart.