Disney is already facing a lawsuit over controversial face scanning at its theme parks

It’s only been a few weeks since The Walt Disney Company came out I started spreading the face scan Disneyland and other California parks are on the way, but technology is already a topic Proposed $5 million class action lawsuit Filed against the company in the US District Court in New York.

The federal complaint, filed on behalf of Summer Christine Duffield, says she visited two Disney parks — Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park — earlier this month, and that her face was scanned “without adequate consent.” The lawsuit accuses Disney of violating privacy, competition and consumer protection laws by not adequately disclosing its use of technology and the data collected.

A Disney representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Disney began using the technology in late April and said it gives visitors the option to skip the facial scan, though there are more lines to enter parks with the scan and fewer lines without. Survey, which is also in practice in Universal Studios parks in Floridait can speed up the re-entry process for those who don’t want to search for passes on their phone. Disney also uses this technology to identify people and prevent them from using someone else’s park pass.

The scanning technology has raised questions about how Disney uses the biometric data it collects and what happens to that data. Disney he said in a blog post It converts images into numerical values ​​and compares those numbers, not the images themselves, when unauthorized traffic use is detected. The company said that digital data is deleted within 30 days, except in cases of alleged fraud or other legal reasons for retention.

Children under the age of 18 can have their faces scanned with the consent of a parent or guardian.

Blake Hunter Yagman, the attorney representing Duffield in the case, said Disney does not give customers sufficient consent to opt-in or opt-out, and that its collection of children’s facial data is particularly problematic. He said it had not been determined what Disney could do with the collected data.

“Disney remains unclear about its retention of this data, claiming there is a 30-day deletion schedule while at the same time disclosing in its privacy policy that facial recognition compares to annual passes and other photos held by Disney,” Yagman said.

Other notable venues in the Los Angeles area are also using facial recognition technology at entrances, including Intuit Dome and Dodger stadiumfor reasons including enabling express access or detecting whether visitors are over 21 years old.