More class action lawsuits accuse companies of sharing subscriber data with Facebook

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Facebook data sharing class action lawsuits overview: 

• Who: Consumers have recently filed class action lawsuits against Warner Bros., BuzzFeed, Sony, GameStop, the National Basketball Association, Bloomberg, AMC Networks and Realtor.com. 
• Why: The companies allegedly unlawfully shared the personally identifiable information of their customers and/or digital subscribers with Facebook without consent. 
• Where: The subscriber lawsuits were filed nationwide. 

Consumers continue to file class action lawsuits against companies accused of unlawfully sharing their subscribers’ data with Facebook without prior express consent. 

The complaints allege companies including Warner Bros., BuzzFeed, Sony, GameStop, the National Basketball Association, Bloomberg, AMC Networks and Realtor.com shared subscriber data with Facebook to monetize it by helping with targeted advertising. 

Consumers have also claimed that companies improperly share subscriber data with the social networking platform to improve analytics tracking. 

CNN.com subscriber claims Warner Bros. shared data with Facebook without consent

A CNN.com subscriber filed a class action lawsuit against parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. this month over claims it shared her and other CNN.com subscribers personally identifiable information with Facebook without consent. 

The subscriber behind the complaint argues that Warner Bros. violates the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) by allegedly disclosing subscribers’ identities and personal video-watching data to Facebook.

Warner Bros. is being accused of profiting off of its “unauthorized disclosure.”

BuzzFeed allegedly improperly shared video browsing histories of Huffingtonpost.com subscribers with Facebook

BuzzFeed also faced claims this month that the company violates the VPPA by sharing the video browsing histories and personally identifiable information of its Huffingtonpost.com digital subscribers with Facebook without consent. 

The subscriber behind the complaint is arguing that BuzzFeed fails to disclose the Facebook data sharing, which she claims is done using a Facebook Pixel. 

“Put simply, the pixel allows Facebook to know what Video Media one of its users viewed on HuffingtonPost.com,” the BuzzFeed class action states. 

Sony accused of wronging Crunchyroll subscribers by sharing their data with Facebook without consent

In other subscriber lawsuits, a consumer filed a class action against Sony Group Corporation, claiming it unlawfully shared the personally identifiable information of subscribers to its video streaming service Crunchyroll with Facebook. 

The consumer behind the complaint argues Sony does not receive proper consent before the Facebook data sharing, which she also claims is done using Facebook Pixel. 

“Crunchyroll tracks and discloses to Facebook the digital subscribers’ viewed Video Media and, most notably, the digital subscribers’ (Facebook ID),” the Crunchyroll class action states. 

GameStop violates VPPA by disclosing customer information to Facebook, class action says

GameStop has also recently been accused of violating the VPPA by sharing the personally identifiable information of its customers with Facebook without first receiving consent. 

A pair of consumers behind the August class action lawsuit argue GameStop shares personally identifiable information with Facebook that includes the specific video games their customers purchase. 

The consumers similarly argue that GameStop uses the Facebook Pixel to capture their activity before sending it to Facebook. 

“​​When the Facebook Tracking Pixel captures an action, it sends a record to Facebook. Once this record is received, Facebook processes it, analyzes it and assimilates it into datasets like the Core Audiences and Custom Audiences,” the GameStop class action states.  

NBA accused of unlawfully sharing subscribers’ personal viewing info with Facebook

Also this month, the National Basketball Association (NBA) allegedly unlawfully disclosed the personal viewing information of its digital subscribers with Facebook without consent. 

The consumer behind the complaint argues that the NBA “profits handsomely” at the expense of its subscribers by allegedly disclosing their personal viewing information with Facebook.

Similarly to the other subscriber lawsuits, the consumer behind the NBA class action claims the sports league violates the VPPA. 

Bloomberg, AMC Networks, Realtor.com face claims they unlawfully shared customer data with Facebook

Individuals also filed class action lawsuits against Bloomberg, AMC Networks, and Realtor.com this month over claims the companies unlawfully shared customer data with Facebook without consent. 

Each of the companies has been accused of violating the VPPA by sharing their customers’ data with Facebook to allegedly monetize it as a way to strengthen their own advertising practices. 

“Without telling its digital subscribers, defendant profits handsomely from its unauthorized disclosure of its digital subscribers’ personal viewing information to Facebook,” the Bloomberg, AMC and Realtor.com class actions state. 

Have you had your personally identifiable information improperly shared with Facebook? Let us know in the comments! 

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