Judge rules Bloomberg subscriber must arbitrate data privacy lawsuit

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Update:

• A New York federal judge ruled in favor of arbitration for claims Bloomberg violated the Video Privacy Protection Act by allegedly sharing the video-viewing activities of its website subscribers with Facebook. 
• The plaintiff, Justin Graham, claims the news outlet installed what is known as the Facebook Tracking Pixel on its website to monitor and record its customers’ activities. 
• U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick ruled Bloomberg’s website interface successfully notified the subscriber that, by subscribing to the website, he would have to arbitrate his claims against the company.
• The case against the news outlet has been stayed, pending arbitration. 
• Bloomberg initially filed a motion to dismiss the claims while moving to compel arbitration in October 2022. 

Bloomberg class action overview:

• Who: Media publisher Bloomberg has been hit with a class action lawsuit by a subscriber.
• Why: The Bloomberg subscriber says the company shared his and other subscribers’ personal information with Facebook without permission.
• Where: The Bloomberg class action was filed in a New York federal court.

(Aug. 18, 2022)

Bloomberg illegally shared its subscribers personal information and viewing habits with Facebook without their permission, in violation of the law, a new class action lawsuit alleges.

Plaintiff Justin Graham filed the class action lawsuit against Bloomberg Aug. 17 in a New York federal court, alleging violations of the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA).

The Bloomberg.com subscriber says the company collected and disclosed its subscribers’ personally identifiable information to Facebook without their permission — including a record of every video clip, title, and hyperlink they viewed on the site.

“Like other businesses with an online presence, defendant collects and shares the personal information of visitors to its website and mobile application with third parties,” Graham states.

“Defendant does this through cookies, software development kits (‘SKD’) and pixels. In other words, digital subscribers to Bloomberg.com have their personal information disclosed to defendant’s third-party business partners.”

Bloomberg installed Facebook tracking pixel, lawsuit alleges

The lawsuit alleges Bloomberg.com installed a Facebook tracking pixel on its site that allows it to gather users’ data and information and track when subscribers access its website or app and view any videos on the site.

“Put simply, the pixel allows Facebook to know what video media one of its subscribers viewed on the Bloomberg.com site,” Graham states. 

“Thus, without telling its digital subscribers, defendant profits handsomely from its unauthorized disclosure of its digital subscribers’ personal viewing information to Facebook. It does so at the expense of its digital subscribers’ privacy and their statutory rights under the VPPA.”

Graham is looking to represent a class of people living in the United States with a digital subscription to Bloomberg.com who had their personal viewing information shared with Facebook without their permission. 

He’s seeking certification of the class action, damages of at least $2,500 per plaintiff for each violation of the VPPA, fees, costs and a jury trial. 

Meanwhile, news company Forbes illegally shares its subscribers’ personal information with Facebook without their consent, a new class action lawsuit alleges.

The news comes as several companies, including HGTV, Forbes, Paramount and Dotdash Meredith, have recently been accused of unlawfully sharing their subscribers’ info with Facebook. 

What do you think of the allegations against Bloomberg? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Graham is represented by Joshua D. Arisohn, Philip L. Fraietta and Christopher R. Reilly of Bursor & Fisher PA and Gary M. Klinger and Nick Suciu III of Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman PLLC.

The Bloomberg Facebook data class action lawsuit is Graham v. Bloomberg LP, Case No. 1:22-cv-07015, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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