Pandora Privacy Class Action Lawsuit Tossed

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A federal judge has thrown out a multibillion dollar class action lawsuit against Pandora Media, Inc. that accused the Internet radio company of violating privacy laws by disclosing its users’ private music listening histories on Facebook.

The Pandora privacy class action lawsuit was filed in September 2011 following its integration with Facebook, which resulted in Pandora users’ names, musical preferences, favorite songs and listening histories being divulged to their Facebook friends.

The Pandora class action lawsuit alleged this constituted a violation of the Michigan Video Rights Protection Act (VPRA), a pre-Internet era law that prohibits companies that “rent or lend” sound recordings from releasing details about a customers’ transaction without their written permission. The VPRA carries a $5,000 penalty per violation, placing the potential damages of the Pandora class action lawsuit in the tens of billions of dollars.

U.S. District Judge Saundra Armstrong, however, didn’t agree. The first problem she found is that the 1988 state privacy law does not allow “a person who has not suffered actual loss” or harm to file a class action lawsuit. “Had the Michigan legislature intended to provide such a remedy, it plainly could have done so,” Armstrong wrote in an opinion on Friday.

The second problem, Armstrong said, is that Pandora wasn’t actually “renting or lending” songs.

“Pandora argues that it merely streamed music to plaintiff’s computer, and therefore, could not have violated (state law) because it never rented, lent, or sold sound recordings to him. The court agrees,” she wrote.

Judge Armstrong also dismissed separate allegations in the class action lawsuit that claimed Pandora violated the Michigan Consumer Protection Act, saying nobody “suffered actual damages” and therefore the case cannot continue.

The law firm representing the Plaintiff, Edelson McGuire, said it hasn’t given up, and will consider the court’s order “and will be making a decision shortly on whether to amend or appeal.”

The case is Peter Deacon v. Pandora Media, Inc., Case No. 11-cv-4674, United States District Court, Northern District of California.

UPDATE: On July 6, 2016, a class action lawsuit over Pandora Media Inc.’s privacy policies was dealt a major setback when Michigan’s Supreme Court ruled that Pandora users don’t “borrow” or “rent” songs from the music streaming company.