3rd Circ. Says Financial Services Rule Thwarts Privacy Suit, Law360
May 12, 2026Morgan Lewis achieved a significant appellate victory for Amazon in a precedential Third Circuit decision affirming the dismissal of a privacy class action suit brought under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).
The Third Circuit affirmed summary judgment and judgment on the pleadings in favor of Amazon and upheld the dismissal of claims against co-defendant Pindrop Security Inc., rejecting allegations that customer service call processing technology unlawfully collected and disclosed biometric voice data. The court held that Pindrop’s authentication services fell within BIPA’s “financial institution” exemption and further concluded that plaintiffs failed to establish that Amazon’s alleged conduct occurred primarily and substantially in Illinois, as required for BIPA to apply extraterritorially.
The decision provides important guidance for companies relying on cloud-based call center platforms, customer-authentication tools, and other voice-enabled technologies, reinforcing that a plaintiff’s presence in Illinois alone is insufficient to bring out-of-state technology activity within BIPA’s reach.
The Morgan Lewis team representing Amazon included partners Beth Herrington, Ari Selman, Jody Barillare, Michael Kenneally, and Jordan McCrary, and associate Kyle Nodes.
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