Illinois Grok users must prove SpaceXAI captured a face-geometry scan from an in-state upload without prior written notice and a signed release. They must also show the scan can identify them and that the company lacked a public retention-and-destruction plan.
Grok is SpaceXAI's AI tool that analyzes, rates, edits, and generates images from user-uploaded face photos. BIPA is the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, the state law limiting private face-scan collection. Bloomberg Law reports both cases reached the Northern District of Illinois in October 2026 Bloomberg Law case report.
Official resources:
- Explore the official data from Bloomberglaw — Use this primary source to review the underlying data.
- Explore the official data from Ashurstperkinscoie — Use this primary source to review the underlying data.
Table of Contents
- Who fits the claimed Illinois group?
- Was it a face scan, not just a photo?
- Did SpaceXAI warn you and get written permission?
- Did SpaceXAI publish how long it keeps scans?
- Do you need harm, and what could it pay?
Who fits the claimed Illinois group?
Shumaker, Loop and Kendrick describes the claimed group as Illinois citizens in Illinois at upload time. Lead plaintiff Cesar Padilla, a Cook County resident, allegedly uploaded his photo for AI headshots. The suits seek to represent thousands of similar users.
CryptoCompass newsroom says the complaints focus on uploads used to analyze, rate, edit, transform, or generate media. Check these points before assuming you qualify: Keep your account email, upload history, and proof you were in Illinois on that date. Padilla's AI-headshot request is the named example.
- You were an Illinois citizen in Illinois when you uploaded.
- Your upload showed your own face to Grok.
- Grok used it for analysis, rating, editing, transformation, or media generation.
- Your account links the upload to you.
Was it a face scan, not just a photo?
CryptoCompass newsroom says Grok allegedly scans facial geometry from uploaded face photos. The alleged map covers eye, nose, lip, and jaw shape and position linked to the account. Ashurst Perkins Coie explains BIPA covers only scans of face geometry that can identify a person Ashurst Perkins Coie BIPA analysis.
Ordinary photographs fall outside the law, and cropped images alone are not geometry scans. A receipt showing you uploaded a photo does not prove a geometry scan. Claimants will need evidence tying Grok's output to measurements, not only to an edited image.
Did SpaceXAI warn you and get written permission?
LegalClarity Illinois states Section 15(b) bars collection or capture of a face scan without first giving written notice of purpose LegalClarity Illinois BIPA guide. It also requires a signed written release before collection. You must show what SpaceXAI showed you before the scan, not after.
Screenshots of the upload screen, terms, prompts, and account messages matter most. Absence of a clear purpose statement and signature line supports this element. You must also tie the upload to actual capture by Grok. Keep the original upload and any Grok result together.
Did SpaceXAI publish how long it keeps scans?
LegalClarity Illinois states Section 15(a) requires possession to come with a public written retention schedule and destruction plan. The plan must tie destruction to purpose fulfillment or last interaction.
You must show SpaceXAI held your biometric data while no such public plan existed. Look for a public policy page dated before your upload, not only for private settings.
Do you need harm, and what could it pay?
LegalClarity Illinois notes claimants need not prove misuse, identity theft, or other actual harm. In Rosenbach v. Six Flags in 2019, the Illinois Supreme Court held the bare statutory violation makes a person aggrieved.
Shumaker, Loop and Kendrick reports BIPA allows $1,000 per negligent violation and $5,000 per intentional or reckless violation Shumaker BIPA compliance analysis. The Aug. 2, 2024 amendment limits repeat same-method collection to one per-person recovery. The same Shumaker analysis notes the Grok allegations remain unproven early-stage claims.