VTech Hit With Class Action Over Data Breach

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On Dec. 31, a class action lawsuit was filed against VTech Electronics North America LLC over a recent data breach that allegedly affected more than 10 million parents and children.

Lead plaintiff Fredy Giron alleges in the VTech class action lawsuit that in “a ‘parent’s nightmare of epic proportions,’” the personally identifiable information (PII) of more than 10 million customers, including parents and their minor children, was exposed in a data breach affecting VTech in November of 2015.

VTech provides software that allows parents to limit their children’s access to the internet and to track their learning achievements through the “Learning Lodge” program. VTech also allows children and parents to send messages using smart devices using their “Kid Connect” program.

According to the VTech class action lawsuit, the data breach “resulted in the disclosure of associated minor children’s names, genders, and birthdays.”

“Moreover,” the VTech class action lawsuit continues, “the PII of those minor children is linked with that of the registered adult VTech Customers, such that anyone with access to the hacked data not only knows the names, genders, and ages of the affected children, but may also learn their home addresses.” Giron alleges that the disclosure of this information is worrisome because it exposes information about children, leaving them vulnerable to predators.

“The Data Breach also exposed tens of thousands of photographs of children and their parents or other trusted adults—more than 190 GB of photographs—as well as audio files and a year’s worth of chat logs between minor children and their parents or other trusted adults,” Giron alleges in the VTech data breach class action lawsuit. “Most if not all of these photographs, recordings, and logs can be traced back to specific usernames, so that anyone in possession of the hacked data can identify who is in a given photograph, recording, or chat log.”

According to the data breach class action lawsuit, VTech did not implement appropriate security measures, negligently exposing its customers to the data breach. “Cybercriminals were able to perpetrate a breach of this depth and scope because VTech failed to maintain reasonable and adequate security measures to protect the information of VTech Customers using VTech’s services from access and disclosure,” Giron says in the VTech class action lawsuit.

Further, “VTech has obligations, by statute and otherwise, to protect its customers’ PII from unauthorized access, yet failed, despite numerous opportunities, to prevent, detect, end, or limit the scope of the breach,” the VTech class action lawsuit alleges.

Giron  seeks to represent a nationwide Class of VTech customers as well as an “Overcharge” subclass of those who purchased a VTech device.

The class action lawsuit accuses VTech of negligence, breach of contract, breach of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment, and violations of Illinois state law. Giron seeks actual and statutory damages, disgorgement, attorney’s fees, as well as an injunction against VTech.

Giron is represented by Ryan F. Stephan, James B. Zouras and Andrew C. Ficzko of Stephan Zouras LLP, and Cari Campen Laufenberg, Gretchen Freeman Cappio, and Amy N. L. Hanson of Keller Rohrback LLP.

The VTech Data Breach Class Action Lawsuit is Fredy Giron v. VTech Electronics North America LLC., Case No. 1:15-cv-11885, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.

UPDATE: On Oct. 5, 2017, VTech filed a motion to dismiss a consolidated litigation over a data breach that exposed the personal information of millions of parents and children.