AARP class action lawsuit over data sharing survives dismissal

Update:

• A federal judge in California declined to dismiss an amended class action lawsuit a group of consumers filed against AARP that alleges the company unlawfully shared its identities and video viewing activities with Meta. 
• The judge determined the consumers successfully amended their complaint so it describes “the significant role video content plays in AARP’s operations.” 
• The class action lawsuit was previously dismissed after the court determined the consumers had not pleaded that providing video content to consumers was a substantial or significant purpose of AARP.
• The AARP customers argue the nonprofit organization is guilty of illegal data mining and in violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act. 

AARP class action overview: 

• Who: Two Facebook users sued AARP, a nonprofit for people over 50.
• Why: The plaintiffs say AARP shared their personal information with Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram. 
• Where: The AARP class action lawsuit was filed in a California federal court. 

(Sept. 29, 2022)

A nonprofit designed to help people over 50 years old has been hit with a class action lawsuit alleging it illegally shared its website visitors’ personal information with Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram. 

Plaintiffs Jan Markels and Allen Ziman filed the class action lawsuit against AARP Sept. 27 in a California federal court, alleging violations of the Video Privacy Protection Act and California business laws.

According to the lawsuit, AARP disclosed its digital users’ identities and video-viewing preferences to Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, without proper consent.

The VPPA prohibits “video tape service providers” from knowingly disclosing consumers’ personally identifiable information without the person having expressly given consent in a standalone consent form, the AARP class action states.

“Despite this, AARP collects and shares users’ personal information with Meta using a ‘Meta Pixel’ or ‘Pixel,’” the lawsuit alleges. “A Meta Pixel is a snippet of programming code that tracks users as they navigate through a website, including what searches they performed and which items they have clicked on or viewed.”

AARP class action alleges company sent personal information to Meta

The Meta Pixel sends information to Meta in a data packet containing Personal Identifiable Information (PII), such as the users’ IP address, name, email or phone number, the plaintiffs alleges. This lets Meta know what video content a user views on AARP’s website, allowing Meta to target ads at that user.

“The personal information AARP obtained from Plaintiffs and Class members constitutes valuable data in the digital advertising-related market for consumer information,” the AARP class action states. “AARP’s wrongful acquisition and use of their personal, private information deprived Plaintiffs and Class members of control over that information and prevented them from realizing its full value for themselves.”

The plaintiffs look to represent a nationwide class of residents who viewed content on the AARP website since 2013 and who were Facebook or Instagram users at that time, plus California and Rhode Island subclasses.

They are seeking certification of the class action, an injunction, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial. 

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

Companies like Warner Bros., BuzzFeed, Sony, GameStop, the National Basketball Association, Bloomberg, AMC Networks and Realtor.com are also facing similar charges.

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

The plaintiffs are represented by Adam E. Polk, Simon Grille, Kimberly Macey and Jessica R. Cook of Girard Sharp LLP.

The AARP class action lawsuit is Jan Markels et al., v. AARP, Case No. 3:22-cv-05499, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. 

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