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Monday, September 14, 2026

An Illinois consumer claims in a class action that home improvement giant Lowe's is secretly collecting callers' voiceprints and sharing their biometric data without consent.

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Lowe's Home Centers LLC failed in its bid to dismiss a proposed class action alleging it collected and disclosed consumers' personal information in violation of the pen register provisions California Invasion of Privacy Act.

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-- Bloomberg Law (@bloomberglaw.com) 2:00 AM · Aug 28, 2026

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More from the article ...

... "Unbeknownst to plaintiff and other Illinois callers, Lowe's records callers' voices and, upon information and belief, subjects at least some calls to speaker-recognition or voice analysis processing that creates, collects, receives, or otherwise obtains voice prints derived from callers' distinctive vocal characteristics," Perkins says in the complaint. ...

While ordinary audio recording is a standard practice among customer service intended to improve overall quality, biometric technology analyzes characteristics of a speaker's voice and translates it into a "mathematical representation" used to distinguish a specific speaker from others.

"Unlike a password, account number, or security code, an individual cannot simply replace the biological and behavioral characteristics reflected in a voiceprint if the information is compromised," Perkins says in the complaint. ...


#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-09-13 06:48 PM | Reply

Does Lowe's then sell those voiceprints?

If so, what personal data might be attached to those voiceprints, and who might the buyers be?

#2 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-09-13 06:49 PM | Reply

LAMP

I was left asking what dollar value would a permanent voiceprint be to anyone?

Take Donald Trump for example. We already know the dollar value of his voiceprint (character) is $0.00.

Free to AI for the taking, so to speak.

#3 | Posted by Twinpac at 2026-09-15 05:10 AM | Reply

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