Class Action
McGoveran v. AWS & Pindrop
McGoveran, et al. v. Amazon Web Services, Inc. and Pindrop Security, Inc.
Where it stands
Third Circuit affirmed dismissal on May 12, 2026. The court held Pindrop qualified for BIPA's financial-institution exemption (as a GLBA-covered service provider to John Hancock) and that the AWS conduct occurred primarily outside Illinois, placing it beyond BIPA's territorial reach.
Key ruling
McGoveran v. Amazon Web Services, Inc., No. 24-3215 (3d Cir. May 12, 2026) — the leading appellate decision applying (1) BIPA's financial-institution exemption to a voice-authentication vendor serving a GLBA-covered institution and (2) the 'primarily and substantially in Illinois' extraterritoriality limit to cloud call-center infrastructure. The court framed the holding narrowly: future BIPA plaintiffs must show both actual collection or possession of biometric identifiers and Illinois-centered conduct.
Note on this record
Plaintiffs' counsel not verified. John Hancock's precise party status at each procedural stage was not confirmed.The record
- Court
- U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware; affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- Case number
- 1:20-cv-01399 (D. Del.); No. 24-3215 (3d Cir.)
- Filed
- 2020-10-16
- Defendants
- Amazon Web Services, Inc. · Pindrop Security, Inc. · John Hancock Life Insurance Company
- Plaintiffs
- Illinois residents who called or received calls from call centers operated on AWS or enabled by Pindrop between December 17, 2014 and the present, and whose voiceprints were captured for authentication
- Technology at issue
- Pindrop voice-biometric caller authentication software running on Amazon Connect / AWS call-center infrastructure used by John Hancock
- Relief sought
- BIPA statutory damages of $1,000 per negligent violation and $5,000 per reckless or intentional violation (740 ILCS 14/20) for capturing and disclosing caller voiceprints without notice or written consent under 740 ILCS 14/15(a)-(d).
Claims pleaded
Sources (3)
- McGoveran v. Amazon Web Services Inc, No. 24-3215 (3d Cir. 2026)Justia · 2026-05-12
- Third Circuit affirms dismissal of BIPA claims against Amazon and PindropABA Banking Journal · 2026-06
- Lawsuit Claims Caller Voiceprints Illegally Collected, Stored, Disclosed by Amazon Web Services, Pindrop SecurityClassAction.org · 2020-10
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