Walmart is facing a class action suit for allegedly violating an Illinois privacy law by using surveillance cameras and Clearview AI's facial recognition database

A lawsuit filed in Illinois alleges that Walmart violated Illinois' Biometric Privacy Act.

The lawsuit alleges that Walmart has recently used Clearivew AI's "facial recognition database," which if true, would mean that Clearview violated its own recent settlement agreement under the law.

A lawsuit seeking class action status filed Thursday alleges that Walmart violated Illinois' Biometric Privacy Act by improperly using "cameras and advanced video surveillance systems," as well as the software and database provided by the facial recognition company Clearview AI.

The plaintiff — James Luthe, a citizen of Illinois — alleges that Walmart's Illinois stores have unlawfully collected, stored, and used biometric data without getting the informed written consent of him and other customers, or getting the proper data retention and destruction policies.

"Walmart's stores in Illinois are outfitted with cameras and advanced video surveillance systems that – unbeknownst to customers – surreptitiously collect, possess, or otherwise obtain Biometric Data," the filing reads. "In addition, Walmart uses software provided by Clearview AI, Inc. to match facial scans taken in its Illinois stores with billions of facial scans maintained within Clearview's massive facial recognition database."

Walmart is also named in a consumer class action suit against multiple companies for allegedly using Clearview AI's facial recognition illegally under the Illinois privacy law. Other companies in the suit include Home Depot, Best Buy, Kohl's, and AT&T.

The initial filing in the suit implies that Clearview AI may have violated the terms of a settlement reached in May, coming from a suit that the American Civil Liberties Union and several other organizations filed against the company in February 2020.

Clearview AI did not immediately respond for comment. A Walmart spokesperson told Insider that the company is "not a Clearview client." businessinsider.com