Significant changes to the state’s controversial Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) took effect during the week. The law was originally proposed to protect Illinois residents’ biometric data, but it created substantial unintended consequences, including multi-billion-dollar damage awards for situations that were never intended to be targets of the act.

Legislation was recently signed into law that amends the controversial BIPA statute, designed to reform digital privacy regulations and clarify the collection and use of biometric data in the state. This reform follows a suggestion from the Illinois Supreme Court in the spring of 2023 to address oversights in the original BIPA legislation.