Apple fails to end Illinois iPhone photo facial recognition class action

On September 30, a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois denied most of Apple's motion for summary judgment in a certified class action, ruling that end-to-end encryption does not prevent Apple from having “control” over data synced to its servers. The lawsuit alleges that the Photos app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac generated facial “faceprints” of Illinois residents without their written consent. The court granted Apple's motion only as to the alleged face crops; all other requests by both parties were denied, and the case will proceed.