Restaurants

Customer sues Wow Bao over facial recognition

September 30, 2021

A customer has sued Wow Bao, a Chicago-based fast casual restaurant that uses self-order and facial recognition technologies, for allegedly not making the necessary disclosures about its facial recognition technology, according to a report in The Enquirer.

The claimant, Regina Morris, claims Wow Bao used a biometric tracking system at its self-order kiosks that authenticate food and beverage purchases but did not properly inform her about how it will use the facial recognition data. The suit claims the restaurant violated the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act.

The law requires entities using the biometric technology to inform users in writing about how the data will be stored, used and for how long.

The plaintiff claims to have suffered mental anguish about how the information could be misused.

Wow Bao had not responded to a Kiosk Marketplace request for comment at the time of this report.