Chicago lawsuits allege Coco and Serve robots scanned biometric data without consent
Two proposed class-action lawsuits in Chicago allege that delivery robots operated by Coco Robotics and Serve Robotics captured customers' biometric data without consent and used it to train AI systems. The plaintiffs, Cook County residents, say the companies violated Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act, which requires written notice, prior written consent and retention schedules, and seek statutory damages of $1,000 per negligent violation or $5,000 per intentional or reckless violation. Both companies deny the claims: Serve says its cameras and sensors navigate sidewalks and are not used to identify individuals or create biometric profiles, while Coco told the Associated Press it collects only navigational data and called the legal action frivolous.
The cases center on whether data captured by delivery robots' cameras and lidar for navigation falls under Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act, which requires written notice and prior written consent.
Food delivery robots might not just be carrying burritos. They could be taking a measurement of your face.
Two proposed class action lawsuits in Chicago accuse Coco Robotics and Serve Robotics of collecting biometric information without consent and using it to train their artificial intelligence systems. The Cook County residents allege that the companies violated Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act, which requires companies to provide written notice of the types and purposes of data collection, obtain prior written consent, and maintain set retention and deletion schedules.
Plaintiff Mitchell Breidinger said that even though he hadn’t chosen robot delivery for his DoorDash groceries, a Coco robot showed up at his home in September 2025. Breidinger said that while he was entering a pickup code, the robot’s cameras captured his face, head and hands and that lidar — a type of 3D imaging technology — measured the geometry of those body parts. Breidinger also alleged that a Coco remote operator watched the delivery on video and that the company didn’t notify him in writing of its intent to collect his biometric data or how long it would retain it.
#Coco Robotics#Serve Robotics#DoorDash#Uber Eats#Grubhub#Starship Technologies