Vizio Class Action Alleges Smart TVs Violated Privacy Laws

A class action lawsuit alleges that television manufacturer Vizio used its “smart” TVs to gather viewing data on consumers without their permission.

Not only did Vizio collect “highly specific data about consumers’ viewing histories and preferences,” the company then sold that data “to advertisers and media content providers so they can deliver targeted advertisements,” according to the complaint.

“VIZIO Smart TVs watch what you’re watching while you’re watching it,” the class action asserts.

The Vizio smart TV privacy violations class action lawsuit contends that Vizio uses its “Smart Interactivity” network software to deceptively gather data on over 8 million people.

The complaint states that the software can be turned off, however it is “on” by default and the ability to disable the software was made difficult to find by Vizio. Most importantly, the class action cites a report from a third party security software company which found that the feature to disable the Smart Interactivity software “was not operational ‘for months, if not years.’” So even those consumers who were able to find the “off” feature and actually used it were still being watched by Vizio.

And Vizio was selling that “extensive” data to numerous other companies, including “advertisers, data brokers, media content providers, and other third parties,” the complaint contends. According to the class action, the data Vizio collected included customers’ detailed viewing history, IP addresses, zip codes, “the online services a consumer visited and the presence of a consumer’s other Internet-connected devices.”

Last month, Vizio settled similar claims of deceptive privacy violations with the Federal Trade Commission, and paid a fine of $2.2 million. In a statement, the FTC said that Vizio “enhanced” its viewing data with information about its customers themselves, and sold that data to third parties, “who used it for various purposes, including targeting advertising to consumers across devices.” In addition to the fine, Vizio agreed to “prominently” disclose its data collection practices, “separate and apart” from its privacy policy.

Plaintiff Mark Queenan of Florida says he owns a Vizio smart TV. Queenan used the TV to stream content through Netflix, Youtube, and other sources, and says he was not aware of Vizio’s data collection software at the time. Queenan claims that the packaging of the Smart TV did not adequately inform him of Vizio’s collection software, and he did not consent to having his information sold to third parties.

The Vizio smart TV class action lawsuit asserts that Vizio violated privacy laws when it “collected and disclosed Plaintiff’s sensitive viewing histories and personal information without his consent.” The complaint argues that Vizio “purposefully omits information about Inscape data collection practices or Smart Interactivity in advertising, marketing, or television packaging.”

The privacy lawsuit requests certification of a Class of all persons in the U.S. who purchased “a Vizio Smart TV with Smart Interactivity capability for personal or household use.” The class action seeks damages, including statutory and punitive damages, for the alleged violations of federal and state privacy laws.

Queenan is represented by Eric H. Gibbs, Andre Mura, and Linda Lam of Girard Gibbs LLP.

The Vizio Smart TV Privacy Violations Class Action Lawsuit is Mark Queenan v. Vizio Inc., et al., Case No. 8:17-cv-00462, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.