Disneyland Hit With $5 Million Lawsuit Over Face-Scanning Gates

A California mother has filed a federal lawsuit accusing Disneyland of secretly collecting facial data from visitors, including children, without proper warning or consent. The proposed class action, seeking at least $5 million, was lodged May 15 in U.S. District Court in New York.

Summer Christine Duffield of Riverside County says she visited the Anaheim parks on May 10 with her kids and was never clearly told that Disney was using facial recognition technology at the turnstiles. According to the Orange County Register, her complaint argues that Disney “does not adequately disclose” its biometric collection, leaving guests in the dark about how their sensitive information is handled.

“Guests should be able to expressly opt in to this type of sensitive facial recognition technology with written consent,” Duffield said. “The onus of privacy rights should not be on the victim.”

Disney introduced the face-scanning option at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure to speed up entry. The system snaps a photo at the gate and compares it to the image taken when the ticket was first used, converting both into numerical values. The company says those numbers are erased within 30 days unless needed for legal or fraud reasons.

Traditional entrance lanes remain open for those who skip the new tech. Disney notes that images may still be captured there, but no biometric processing happens.

The lawsuit taps into growing unease over surveillance in public spaces. KTLA reached out to Disneyland but did not receive a comment by publication time.