AMC class action claims streaming service shares viewer data with Facebook

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AMC class action overview: 

• Who: AMC+ users are suing the streaming service.
• Why: The plaintiffs allege the company shared their personal information and viewing history with Facebook without their consent.
• Where: The AMC class action was filed in a New York federal court.

Streaming service AMC+ has been hit with a class action lawsuit by subscribers who allege the company secretly shared their personal information and viewing history with Facebook so the social media company could serve them targeted ads.

The plaintiffs — two New York AMC+ subscribers and one in Minnesota — filed the class action lawsuit against AMC Networks on Jan. 19 in a New York federal court, alleging violations of the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA).

According to the lawsuit, AMC collected data on what AMC+ subscribers watched on its platforms, then shared the information with Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook. 

AMC allegedly did this by adding the Facebook Pixel tool into the service’s platform codes. The pixel not only scrapes video viewing data, but it also scrapes personal information that would allow Facebook to match the viewing data with a person’s Facebook profile, the lawsuit alleges.

“The information shared with Facebook includes the consumer’s Facebook ID coupled with the title of the video that the consumer requested or obtained on the AMC+ website,” the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit alleges that combining the two pieces of information enables the companies to link a consumer with their viewing history. The practice is allegedly in violation of the VPPA, which bans “videotape service providers” like AMC+ from “knowingly” sharing consumers’ personal information. 

AMC+ subscribers did not know their information was being shared with Facebook, lawsuit alleges

AMC did not tell its subscribers it was sharing their viewing history with Facebook or get their express consent to do so.

It also keeps the information “indefinitely,” in violation of the law, the lawsuit alleges. Facebook purportedly uses the data to better target users on its platform with ads, thus increasing its bottom line.

The plaintiffs seek to represent other AMC+ users whose data was shared with Facebook without their consent. They are suing under the VPPA and New York consumer protection laws and seek an injunction, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial. 

Several companies, including HGTV, Forbes, Paramount and Dotdash Meredith, have recently been accused of unlawfully sharing their subscribers’ info with Facebook.

Are you an AMC+ subscriber with a Facebook account? Let us know your thoughts on this lawsuit in the comments.  

The plaintiffs in the case are represented by Samuel R. Jackson, Hank Bates and Courtney Ross of Carney Bates & Pulliam PLLC.

The AMC+ class action lawsuit is McCoy, et al. v. AMC Networks Inc., Case No. 1:23-cv-00441, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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