Chicago journalists sue tech giants over voice theft for AI training
Nine class action lawsuits filed this week in federal court in Chicago accuse Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Adobe, Samsung, ElevenLabs and NVIDIA of collecting and using journalists' and podcasters' voices to train artificial intelligence systems without consent or payment.
The cases mark a new application of Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act, or BIPA, a law that has generated thousands of lawsuits and millions in settlements since its passage. Journalists Carol Marin and Phil Rogers, both retired from NBC 5, along with podcast hosts and voice actors, allege the companies extracted their voiceprints from recordings to build AI voice models.
"What we are seeing is an illegal and unethical exploitation of talent on a massive scale, and one of the largest violations of biometric privacy ever committed," said Ross Kimbarovsky, an attorney with Chicago-based law firm Loevy & Loevy, in a statement announcing the lawsuits.
How BIPA applies to voices
BIPA requires companies to obtain written consent before collecting biometric data. The law treats voiceprints - mathematical representations of someone's voice including pitch, timbre and resonance - as biometric identifiers equivalent to fingerprints or retinal scans.
Unlike a stolen Social Security number, a voiceprint cannot be reissued or changed. The biological and behavioral patterns that create a voiceprint are the same patterns a person uses to speak every day, making recovery impossible.
The lawsuits allege none of the plaintiffs received notice or gave consent for their voices to be ingested into commercial AI training systems. The complaints state the companies knew how to build consent systems compliant with BIPA but chose not to.
BIPA litigation expanding beyond fingerprints
For the past decade, BIPA lawsuits focused primarily on fingerprints collected by timeclock technology. Facebook's $650 million settlement in 2020 over facial recognition showed the law's reach expanding.
As companies adopted compliance measures, the pool of plaintiffs dried up. Now litigation targets smart security cameras, workplace safety cameras and online "try-on" technology. Voice-based AI systems could become the next major focus.
In early 2023, Whole Foods - owned by Amazon - settled a case brought by 330 warehouse employees alleging the company collected their voiceprints without permission to verify worker identities. The company paid $300,000, marking the first BIPA settlement from voiceprint-focused litigation.
Industry experts say the current lawsuits may hinge on whether courts agree voiceprints qualify as identifiable biometric information under BIPA. None of the named companies responded to requests for comment.
Other plaintiffs include journalist Robin Amer, audiobook narrators Lindsay Dorcus and Victoria Nassif, and podcasters Yohance Lacour and Alison Flowers - all Illinois residents.
For writers and content creators whose voices appear in recordings, understanding AI for Legal protections and AI for Writers concerns has become essential.
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