Adobe is the latest company named in a wave of class action lawsuits targeting AI voice training. Seven Illinois voice professionals, represented by law firm Loevy and Loevy, filed the complaint on May 14, 2026 in US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (case 1:26-cv-05575). The suit targets Adobe's generative AI lineup, including Firefly.

What Happened

The same group of plaintiffs has filed nine total lawsuits against Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, ElevenLabs, Samsung, and now Adobe. Each complaint rests on Illinois's Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) and the Illinois Right of Publicity statute. According to the complaints, the companies collected voiceprints from publicly available audio recordings without obtaining written consent, providing required notices, or publishing biometric data retention policies. BIPA requires all three steps before a company can collect or commercially use a biometric identifier like a voiceprint.

Why It Matters for Creators

Public availability of a recording does not equal consent under Illinois law. The plaintiffs argue companies have treated open-access podcasts, audiobooks, and broadcast archives as a free AI training corpus. BIPA grants Illinois residents specific rights over the commercial use of their biometric data, regardless of whether the underlying audio is publicly accessible.

The seven plaintiffs carry significant credibility: Pulitzer Prize winners, Peabody Award recipients, Emmy winners, and an Edward R. Murrow honoree. Their standing makes these cases harder to dismiss as fringe complaints. For context on how AI companies are integrating and monetizing voice capabilities, see our earlier coverage of ElevenLabs, which is also named as a co-defendant in this wave.

Key Details

  • Case filed: May 14, 2026, US District Court, Northern District of Illinois (case 1:26-cv-05575)
  • Laws cited: Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) and Illinois Right of Publicity statute
  • Plaintiffs: Carol Marin, Philip Rogers, Yohance Lacour, Alison Flowers, Robin Amer, Lindsey Dorcus, Victoria Nassif
  • Adobe product at issue: Firefly generative AI models
  • Other defendants in the series: Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, ElevenLabs, Samsung
  • Core allegation: Voiceprints scraped from public recordings without written consent, notice, or data retention disclosure

What to Do Next

If you publish audio content publicly and are an Illinois resident, BIPA may already protect your voiceprint. Review Adobe's Creative Cloud account privacy settings for controls over how submitted audio samples are used, and use Adobe's data deletion request process if applicable. Consider adding explicit licensing language to podcast show notes or audiobook descriptions stating the audio is not available for AI training. It is not a complete legal shield, but it creates a record of intent. Track all nine related cases via the broader litigation coverage as they proceed through federal court.