Hearst Communications Class Action Lawsuit

A federal class action lawsuit claims Hearst Communications — the company behind such major publications as Cosmopolitan and Esquire magazines — collects and stores information about its subscribers and secretly shares it with third-party marketers, in violation of California law.

According to the Hearst Communications class action lawsuit, the publisher is violating the state’s “Shine the Light Law,” which protects consumers from companies that collect and surreptitiously share their sensitive personal information with third parties. The law requires businesses to establish a procedure by which customers can receive an explanation of how their personal information is disclosed to third parties.

“Shine the Light Disclosures are necessary because without knowledge of companies’ data sharing practices, consumers cannot make informed decisions about which businesses they should entrust with their personal information,” the class action lawsuit states.

“Despite the fact that Hearst profits by sharing its users’ personal information, it intentionally keeps its users in the dark on its information sharing practices by failing to make the Shine the Light Disclosures on its website. As a result, Hearst violates the Shine the Light Law by willfully denying its users an opportunity to exercise their legally proscribed rights under the Act.”

The Hearst class action lawsuit is brought on behalf of all California residents who have provided personal information to Hearst. It is seeking damages and civil penalties of $3,000 per violation of the law, in addition to injunctive relief prohibiting Hearst from engaging in the alleged wrongful conduct.

A copy of the Hearst Communications Class Action Lawsuit can be read here.

The case is Melissa Miller v. Hearst Communications, Inc., Case No. 12-cv-00733, U.S. District Court, Central District of California.

UPDATE: The Ninth Circuit struck down this class action lawsuit on Feb. 18, 2014, ruling the plaintiff lacked standing to pursue claims under California’s Shine the Light law.