Microsoft Faces Biometric Privacy Lawsuit Over Teams Transcription Feature
Microsoft is currently facing a class action lawsuit in Washington state federal court alleging violations of Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). The suit centers around the company’s automated real-time transcription services within its Microsoft Teams videoconferencing application.
The Core of the Complaint
Filed on February 5, 2026, the lawsuit, Basich et al. V. Microsoft Corp. (Case No. 2:26-cv-00422), claims that Microsoft improperly collected and stored users’ voiceprints without obtaining necessary consent or providing adequate notice. The plaintiffs – Alex Basich, Kristin Bondlow, Marquis Boyce, Jessica Brewer, and Jamari Brown, all Illinois residents – allege that Microsoft’s employ of “diarization” technology, which identifies speakers by analyzing unique voice characteristics, violates BIPA.
How Teams Transcription Works and Why It’s Under Scrutiny
Microsoft Teams launched its live automated transcription service in 2021, allowing users to create searchable, timestamped records of meeting dialogue. The technology analyzes audio to create “voiceprints,” essentially identifying individual speakers. The lawsuit argues that Microsoft failed to inform users about this data collection, how the data would be stored, its intended use, and its eventual disposal, as required by BIPA.
BIPA: A Strict Biometric Privacy Law
Illinois’ BIPA is considered one of the most stringent biometric privacy laws in the United States. It mandates specific requirements for companies collecting biometric data, including written consent and clear disclosures regarding data storage, usage, and sharing. Unlike many privacy laws, BIPA allows individuals to sue companies for violations even if they haven’t experienced direct harm.
Potential Financial Implications
The lawsuit seeks damages of $1,000 to $5,000 per violation of BIPA. Given the potential class size – potentially “many thousands or tens of thousands” of Illinois residents who have used Microsoft Teams since 2021 – the total payout could reach millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars. Similar BIPA lawsuits have resulted in substantial settlements; Meta, for example, previously agreed to pay $550 million and $68 million to settle claims related to improper face scans on Facebook and Instagram, respectively.
Legal Representation
The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys from Byrnes Keller Cromwell (Seattle), Levin Law (Miami), and Labaton Keller Sucharow (New York). Microsoft has not yet issued a public response to the lawsuit.
Broader Trend of BIPA Litigation
This case is part of a growing wave of BIPA-related lawsuits targeting companies that collect biometric data. While many suits have focused on employers, tech giants like Microsoft, Meta, Google, and Amazon are increasingly facing similar legal challenges over their biometric data practices.
Keep reading