Google, Viacom Violated Kids’ Privacy, Class Action Lawsuits Say

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Google Inc. and Viacom Inc. have been hit with six class action lawsuits accusing the companies of illegally tracking the online activities of children under 13.

Parents and the minor plaintiffs (identified only as their initials) allege in the Internet privacy class action lawsuits that Viacom and Google placed cookies on users’ computers that allowed them to unlawfully track the Internet and video-viewing activities of minors who visited Viacom-owned sites like Nick.com and NickJr.com in order to serve them targeted ads.

These cookies remained on computers even after the children had informed Viacom through the sign-up process that they were under 13, the Viacom/Google class action lawsuits say.

Such alleged tracking violates the federal Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) and the federal Wiretap Act, according to the class action lawsuits.

The Viacom/Google privacy class action lawsuits were filed about a week after the Federal Trade Commission released sweeping changes to its Children’s Online Protection Act rule on December 19, and about four months after nearly 20 consumer privacy groups urged the FTC to investigate child-directed websites run by Viacom, McDonald’s and General Mills for failing to obtain proper parental consent before employing certain marketing techniques.

“The plaintiffs, and others similarly situated, suffered invasions of privacy in direct violation of federal law when Viacom and Google developed, implemented and profited from cookies designed to track the Internet communications and video viewing habits of minor children under the age of 13,” the privacy class action lawsuits say.

The plaintiffs in all six class action lawsuits are seeking to certify a nationwide class of children under 13 who were secretly tracked online by cookies placed their computers by Google and Viacom. They are also proposing a subclass of children who engaged with video materials that Viacom knowingly allowed Google to track through a specialized cookie.

The Viacom/Google class action lawsuits are seeking actual damages, statutory damages, penalties and more.

The Viacom/Google Internet Tracking Class Action Lawsuit cases are:

L.G. v. Google Inc. et al., Case No. 12-cv-06555, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

CAF and CTF et al. v. Viacom Inc. et al., Case No. 12-cv-07829, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

T.M. v. Viacom Inc. et al., Case No. 12-cv-01295, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.

Fryar v. Viacom Inc. et al., Case No. 12-cv-03713, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

K.T. v. Viacom Inc. et al., Case No. 12-cv-01868, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

N.J. v. Viacom Inc. et al., Case No. 12-cv-04322, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

UPDATE 1: A federal judge approved an MDL to consolidate the Google/Viacom tracking class action lawsuits in New Jersey. It is known as In Re: Nickelodeon Consumer Privacy Litigation (MDL No. 2443), Case No. 2:13-cv-03757-SRC-CLW, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

UPDATE 2: A federal judge dismissed the Nickelodeon Consumer Privacy MDL on July 2, 2014, ruling the plaintiffs failed to prove that Google and Viacom violated state and federal privacy and wiretapping laws.

UPDATE 3: On Nov. 22, 2016, Viacom argued in New Jersey federal court that the last privacy claim in a class action lawsuit alleging Nickelodeon tracked the online activity of minor users should be dropped.