Illinois journalists, podcasters sue tech companies over using their voice to train AI
Nine Illinois journalists, podcasters, and voice actors, including Emmy and Pulitzer winners, filed lawsuits against 10 tech companies—Amazon, Adobe, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, Meta, ElevenLabs, and NVIDIA—alleging unauthorized use of their voices to train AI systems without consent, violating Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). The plaintiffs seek financial compensation, court orders to halt data collection, disclosure of data sources, and destruction of unauthorized AI models, arguing voice data cannot be replaced like other biometric information.
Seven journalists, podcasters, and voice actors in Illinois have filed lawsuits against 10 major technology companies, accusing them of using their voices without permission to train artificial intelligence systems. The plaintiffs include Carol Marin (Chicago Tonight), Phil Rogers (NBC Chicago), Robin Amer (USA Today), Lindsay Dorcus (children’s book voice actress), Yohance Lacour (*You Didn’t See Nothin* podcast), Victoria Nassif (Apple Books voice actress), and Alison Flowers (*Somebody* podcast). Collectively, they have won multiple Emmy, Peabody, Pulitzer, and Edward R. Murrow Awards. The lawsuits allege violations of Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), which protects biometric data such as voiceprints, fingerprints, and facial geometry from being collected or stored without consent. The companies named in the lawsuits are Amazon, Adobe, Google (and its parent company Alphabet), Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, Meta, ElevenLabs, and NVIDIA. The plaintiffs argue that their voices—unique and irreplaceable—were used to train AI without authorization. Attorney Ross Kimbarovsky, representing the media professionals, stated that the case aims to prevent tech conglomerates from exploiting citizens’ biometric data. He emphasized that unlike credit cards, which can be canceled or replaced, a voice cannot be recovered if stolen or misused. The plaintiffs are seeking financial compensation and court orders to immediately stop collecting unconsented voice data, disclose the origins of training data, and destroy any AI models created using unauthorized recordings. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illinois also expressed concern, noting that biometric data is permanent and irreversible once compromised. Under BIPA, companies found violating the law face fines of up to $1,000 per negligent violation and $5,000 per intentional or reckless violation. This legal action follows similar lawsuits filed in New York and California over AI training data and biometric privacy concerns. None of the named companies responded to requests for comment by the time of publication. The lawsuits highlight growing nationwide concerns over AI systems being trained using creative work or biometric data without consent.
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