What happened

The fast food company was sued (pdf) by customer Shannon Carpenter for secretly using a voice recognition system when taking his drive-through order. 

The class-action lawsuit claims McDonald's is using the technology to identify repeat customers at sites across Chicago, and that it is connecting personal voice data with car license plate numbers so that customers can be more easily recognised whichever restaurant they visit.

Why it happened

McDonald's implemented the system to improve order accuracy and efficiency at drive-thrus. However, the company allegedly failed to:

1. Notify customers about the collection of voiceprint biometrics

2. Obtain explicit consent for data collection

3. Provide information on data storage and deletion practices

These omissions potentially violated BIPA, which requires companies to inform customers and obtain consent before collecting biometric data.