Whitepages Can’t Shake Lawsuit Over Personal Information Misuse

Background report providers Whitepages Inc. and Instant Checkmate LLC must face proposed class actions brought by individuals who said the companies improperly used their personal information in advertisements in violation of the Illinois Right of Publicity Act, an Illinois federal judge ruled.

Stephanie Lukis and Robert Fischer filed suit against Whitepages and Instant Checkmate, each alleging violations of the IRPA, which prohibits use of an individual’s identity for commercial purposes without consent. Both companies collect personal information from public records for background reports, and use data of unaffiliated individuals to market those reports and other services to potential buyers.

Whitepages ...