By Mike Swift ( October 8, 2026, 22:24 GMT | Insight) -- Apple failed to defeat claims that the numerical faceprints generated by the Photos app constitute unique face-geometry scans collected or possessed without the consent required by Illinois' biometric privacy law, clearing the way for a jury trial in the spring unless a settlement is reached first. In a summary judgment order unsealed Thursday, a federal judge in East St. Louis, Illinois, ruled that the "relevant question" is whether the faceprint in the Photos app "is capable of identifying a person. And here, there is evidence in the record from which a reasonable jury could make that finding.”Apple faces the prospect of a trial this spring over biometric privacy violations by its Photos app, after a federal judge in Illinois ruled that facial data used by the app to group faces are identifying biometric data under the state’s biometric privacy law....
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