Walmart class action alleges company shares customer data with Meta

Walmart data sharing class action: 

• Who: Three Walmart customers have filed a class action lawsuit against the retailer. 
• Why: The plaintiffs allege the company illegally shared their video viewing information with Meta.
• Where: The Walmart data sharing class action lawsuit was filed in Arkansas federal court.  

Three Walmart customers have hit the retail giant with a class action lawsuit alleging the company illegally shared their video viewing information with Meta.

Plaintiffs Laurie Brown, Oluwakemi Fosudo, and Abigail Musick filed the class action complaint against Walmart Inc. on July 15 in an Arkansas federal court, alleging violations of the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA). 

The trio claims that Walmart has been unlawfully sharing customers’ video viewing information with Meta Platforms Inc. — formerly Facebook — through a snippet of code known as the “Meta Pixel.”

“Over the past two years, Defendant has systematically transmitted (and continues to transmit today) its customers’ personally identifying video viewing information to Meta,” the lawsuit alleges.

Walmart data sharing includes Facebook ID

According to the lawsuit, the data that is shared includes the Facebook ID (FID) and the titles of specific, pre-recorded video materials that were purchased by customers. 

An FID is a unique identifier linked to a specific Meta profile, the lawsuit explains, which publicly identifies the person to whom it belongs and contains other personal information. 

By entering “Facebook.com/[FID]” into a browser, one can access the profile associated with the FID, the plaintiffs say. 

“Thus, the FID identifies a person more precisely than a name, as numerous persons may share the same name, but each person’s Facebook profile (and associated FID) uniquely identifies one and only one person,” the lawsuit says.

Walmart disclosed information without consent

The plaintiffs allege that Walmart disclosed this information without obtaining customers’ consent first, violating the VPPA. 

Fosudo said she bought pre-recorded video material from Walmart’s website in December 2024. 

Fosudo, who had a Meta account at the time, claims that Walmart then disclosed her FID and the specific title of the video she purchased, along with other information, to Meta without her consent. 

As a result, the plaintiffs seek to represent anyone in the United States who bought pre-recorded video material from Walmart’s website while maintaining a Meta account over the past two years. They seek certification of the class action, an award of $2,500 to each plaintiff and class member, and a judgment against Walmart.

Last month, Capital One and Walmart Inc. reached a settlement to end the retail giant’s claims that the credit card company was unable to meet the customer service standards detailed in a 2018 contract between the two companies. 

What do you think of the allegations against Walmart in this case? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by H. Gregory Campbell of Campbell Law Firm P.A.and Frank S. Hedin, Arun G. Ravindran and Elliot O. Jackson of Hedin LLP.

The Walmart VPPA class action lawsuit is Laurie Brown et al v. Walmart Inc., Case No. 5:24-cv-05144-TLB in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas.

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