Lawsuits claim food delivery robots collect biometric data without consent

Two lawsuits claim that some food delivery robots collect hand and facial data, without a customer's consent.

The lawsuit, which was filed in Cook County, Illinois, names both Coco and Serve Robotics.

It alleges that the robots use technology that scans faces, hands and bodies of people, both customers and others who just happen to be on the sidewalk.

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Serve told our sister station WLS that its robots use cameras and sensors to navigate Chicago sidewalks. The company says it "does not use that data to identify individuals."

Coco Robotics says it has not collected biometric data in Chicago.

A spokesperson for Serve Robotics issued the following statement:

"Serve Robotics is aware of the complaint and will defend against it. Our robots use cameras and sensors to navigate the sidewalks of Chicago safely."

"Serve does not use that data to identify individuals and our systems are not designed to identify individuals or create biometric profiles."

Carl Hansen, the head of Government Relations at Coco Robotics said:

"This lawsuit fundamentally misunderstands our technology, we have not collected biometric data in Chicago, and we are confident that this frivolous lawsuit will go away."

"Privacy and compliance with privacy laws are a top priority at Coco and we believe these claims are meritless."

"We have never used LiDAR in Chicago and all data we collect complies with Illinois law."

"The data we share is anonymous navigational data used to make streets safer. For example, we provide real-time sidewalk hazard information to BlindSquare, a navigation app built for people who are blind or have low vision. We never share video from the beginning or end of a trip."