The Wall Street Journal Class Action Says Subscribers Info Unlawfully Sold

The Wall Street Journal readers have filed a class action lawsuit accusing its owner of selling subscriber information to third-parties.

The Wall Street Journal class action lawsuit was filed by Christopher and Sheree Rentola, who claim that they are being flooded with unwanted junk mail. They blame this on Dow Jones & Company, for allegedly selling their personal information to third-parties. In their eyes, this act violates their privacy and goes against Michigan law.

The Rentolas say they are not the only customers in this situation — allegedly, Dow Jones & Company regularly makes a practice of selling, exchanging, renting, or otherwise sharing information about its print subscribers with third-parties. Allegedly, these third-parties include data aggregators, data appenders, data cooperatives, list brokers, and other parties.

The Wall Street Journal info disclosure class action lawsuit backs up its assertions with supposed documented evidence that Dow Jones & Company shared subscriber information.

The readers point to list broker NextMark’s offer to give renters access to the Personal Reading Information of 1,182,239 U.S. Wall Street Journal subscribers at a price of $170 per thousand users.

Additionally, the consumers note that Dow Jones & Company published in The Wall Street Journal itself that the magazine “sells its print-subscriber list to marketers for $1,870 per 1,000 subscribers for each mailing, according to NextMark, which tracks such list.”

The Wall Street Journal subscriber list class action lawsuit argues that Michigan law prohibits this conduct.

They cite the state’s Preservation of Personal Privacy Act, which says that “a person, or an employee or agent of the person, engaged in the business of selling at retail, renting, or leading books or other written materials…shall not disclose to any person, other than the customer, a record or information concerning the purchase…of those materials by a customer that indicates the identity of the customer.”

The Rentolas aim to represent a Class of Michigan Wall Street Journal subscribers who had their information shared between May 4, 2015 and July 30, 2016, and seek damages on behalf of this Class.

The Rentolas say that they and many other consumers were injured by the company’s practice because their privacy was violated — their information was shared with people who they did not wish to share it with. They argue that this sale is why they and so many others are now receiving unwanted and annoying junk mail.

Additionally, the Rentolas claim that they were financially injured because had they known that their information would be shared, they would not have subscribed to The Wall Street Journal or would not have paid as much as they did for it.

They argue that Dow Jones & Company did not properly disclose their practice of sharing user information with readers, which they could have and should have done to inform readers of the risks of subscribing.

The Dow Jones magazine privacy class action lawsuit explains that the company profits from the sale of this information. The consumers note that there is an extensive market for this information, for those buyers who wish to learn more about consumers and gain insight into their interests in order to market products.

They note that Personal Reading Information can give insight into a reader’s demographics, religious beliefs, political leanings, health issues, and others intimate details.

The Rentolas go on to stress that Dow Jones & Company is well aware or should be aware that their practices violate Michigan law. Allegedly, the company knowingly and intentionally violates the law, putting its profits ahead of the law and the rights of its readership. They argue that the company was unjustly enriched from its action.

Have you had your personal information shared after subscribing to a magazine? Share your experiences in the comments section below.

The Rentolas are represented by Joseph I. Marchese and Phillip L. Fraietta of Bursor & Fisher PA, Frank S. Hedin and David W. Hall of Hedin Hall LLP, and Nick Suciu III of Barbat, Mansour & Suciu PLLC.

The Wall Street Journal Subscribers Class Action Lawsuit is Christopher Rentola, et al. v. Dow Jones & Company Inc., Case No. 2:20-cv-1189-SDD-EAS, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

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