Chicago City Wire

A witness at the Senate Judiciary Privacy Committee hearing on April 12 objected to Sen. Jason Barickman’s (R-Bloomington) proposed amendment to the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).

Sapna Khatri, advocacy and policy counsel at ACLU of Illinois, opposed SB 300, saying that it was never meant to harm businesses and employers while it aims to protect the public.

“The ACLU believes that everybody’s biometric privacy deserves the utmost protection,” she said. "That is why are we concerned about SB 300, which takes aim to weaken Illinois biometric information Privacy Act. BIPA was unanimously passed in 2008 with the simple goal of enabling the use of biometric technology, not preventing it."

Khatri said that the law was not designed to harm businesses nor stymie innovation.

"Instead, it merely recognized and offered protections to vulnerable people so that they don't unknowingly hand over their most sensitive information," Khatri said. "BIPA has been the most effective and important biometric information Privacy Law in the country for the last 13 years; while we've heard a lot about BIPA and Senate Bill 300 already today it's critical to take a step back and recognize that BIPA has been working exactly as it was intended since the day it was passed."

Khatri added that biometric data is the only information about a person that can never be modified, which deserves to be protected.

One of the key changes proposed in SB 300 is the requirement that a private entity file notice of a BIPA violation within 30 days. It also changes the definitions of "biometric information" and "written consent," and adjusts the penalties.