Facebook facial recognition lawsuit can proceed, says US court

Firm will appeal against action that could expose it to billions of dollars in potential damages

A US federal appeals court has rejected Facebook's effort to undo a class action lawsuit alleging it illegally collected and stored biometric data for millions of users without their consent using facial recognition technology.

The 3-0 decision from the ninth US circuit court of appeals in San Francisco exposes the company to billions of dollars in potential damages paid out to the Illinois users who brought the case.