Amazon, Google, Microsoft Hit With Face Recognition Lawsuits (1)

Amazon.com Inc., Alphabet Inc.‘s Google, and Microsoft Corp. allegedly used people’s photos without permission to train facial recognition technology in violation of an Illinois biometric privacy statute, federal lawsuits claim.

The photos were part of International Business Machines Corp.'s “diversity in faces” database available for research that is meant to weed out racial and gender bias in facial recognition, according to the suits filed in California and Washington state, where the companies are based.

The individuals suing claim their faces were some of those used, according to the Tuesday filings. They want to make the case a class ...