USA – ILLINOIS Trends and Developments Contributed by: Steven P. Blonder, Much Shelist
site accessibility. Simply put, counting on generative AI to maintain website accessibility and avoid compli- ance issues is no more reliable than using ChatGPT as a source of definitive or uncontroverted facts. What is different in 2025 is that many of these lawsuits are targeting small and mid-sized businesses − many of which incorrectly assumed they were too small to be at risk. In the employee arena, labour and employment class actions continue to rise, and companies report spend- ing more money on defending such suits than on any other form of class action. The increase in such claims may reflect increasing employee dissatisfaction with pay or hybrid work policies, as well as a general increase in workplace activism. Role of technology in relation to litigation Cyber-incidents remain a top driver of commercial liti- gation throughout the USA, with insurance playing a significant role in shaping these disputes. It is beyond dispute that data breaches have generated the larg- est single category of costly litigation throughout the USA during the past few years. That trend continued in 2025 and shows no indication of slowing down any time in the near future. Compared to 2022, 2024 saw three times the number of data-related class actions filed, and that trend continued for the first part of 2025. Indeed, 2025 witnessed data breach class actions ini- tiated against companies ranging from PNC and Dis- cord to Sotheby’s, McHire (McDonald’s AI platform), Oracle, PeopleGuru, and Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Montana, among others. Throughout the past decade, business has become more technology-centric as paper forms increasingly become a relic of the past. Businesses depend on cloud computing and other online activities to com- pete on a global scale. Massive amounts of data are collected and stored as part of companies’ regular business operations. However, as a result of this technological shift, the news is replete with stories about data breaches and cyber-attacks in companies ranging from Fortune 100 companies to small start-ups. During the first half of 2025, more than 1,700 data breaches were reported. Inevitably, following such a breach, lawsuits are filed.
Some of the claims are being brought as class actions by plaintiffs’ lawyers on behalf of consumers; others are asserted on behalf of the party whose IT system was hacked against their insurers or other account- able parties, in order to seek compensation for any damage that was suffered. As long as data protection laws continue to be strengthened worldwide, new governmental regula- tions continue to be promulgated and massive set- tlements are announced, no one should expect the brakes to be pushed on the filing of these lawsuits. In 2024 alone, the ten largest settlements in data breach class actions totalled nearly USD600 million. A newer trend reflects lawsuits regarding online track- ing and communications. The federal Video Privacy Protection Act has been the source of these suits, as companies are being sued for using web analytics pixels and replay code. In 2024, more than 250 such suits were filed − almost doubling the number filed in the previous year. Moreover, US states such as Illinois have statutes regarding the collection and storage of biometric information. As businesses have digitised many of their security, payroll and time-keeping functions, they have (often) inadvertently run afoul of state laws providing for the storage, collection and use of such information. This has led to a plethora of litigation that is poised to continue. The trend for new suits in this regard has significantly slowed as most companies adopted the consents and other documents necessary to insulate themselves from liability. Yet a number of such suits remain pend- ing and, as further states adopt laws regarding the collection and storage of biometric information, this trend may reverse. One interesting development in 2025 relates to the remedies for such suits. By way of example, in March 2025, a settlement was approved granting class members a substantial equity stake in Clearview AI. The next wave of these suits may be lurking around the corner as companies gather genetic information. The collection of genetic information is governed by federal law as well as state statutes, often providing
1223 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook