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Update:
- A Massachusetts federal judge gave the green light to a $5 million class action settlement that would resolve claims the Boston Globe knowingly disclosed the personal information of its subscribers to Facebook without their consent.
- On May 25, U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns granted preliminary approval to the deal struck between the publisher and Plaintiff David Ambrose.
- If approved, the settlement would allow a $4 million sum to be split among subscribers and an additional $1 million of in-kind payments in the form of one-week extensions to existing subscriptions.
- Ambrose filed the class action in 2022, claiming the Globe sends a record of every video clip a subscriber views on bostonglobe.com to Facebook via the Facebook Pixel without consent and in violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act.
Boston Globe subscriber data Facebook share class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: David Ambrose filed a class action lawsuit against Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC.
- Why: Ambrose claims the Boston Globe shares the personal information of its subscribers with Facebook without consent.
- Where: The lawsuit was filed in Massachusetts federal court.
(Feb. 9, 2022)
The Boston Globe knowingly discloses the personal information of its subscribers to Facebook without their consent, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
Plaintiff David Ambrose claims the Boston Globe sends a record of every video clip a subscriber views on bostonglobe.com to Facebook in violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA).
“Defendant violated the VPPA by knowingly transmitting Plaintiff’s and the putative class’s personally identifiable information to unrelated third parties,” the class action lawsuit states.
Ambrose claims the Boston Globe transmits each page subscribers view, including their title and a description along with videos watched, to Facebook.
The Boston Globe is able to send this information by hosting what is called the Facebook Tracking Pixel, which is used to track internet users and their actions, the class action lawsuit alleges.
“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 lawsuit states.
Advertisers able to track users with Facebook Tracking Pixel
Ambrose claims that advertisers, such as the Boston Globe, who integrate the Facebook Tracking Pixel into their website are able to collaborate with the social networking website.
“Boston Globe discloses this information so it can better match visitors to their Facebook profiles, which thereby allows Boston Globe to better target its advertisements,” the class action lawsuit states.
Ambrose further claims that the Boston Globe shares its subscribers’ first and last names and email addresses, which are required when first signing up on the website, with Facebook.
“Boston Globe discloses a subscriber’s email address, first name and last name when inputted into any of the above form fields, which enables Facebook to then match those identifiers with that subscriber’s subsequent activity on the site,” the lawsuit alleges.
Ambrose is demanding a jury trial and requesting injunctive relief along with statutory and punitive damages for himself and all class members. He wants to represent a nationwide class of Boston Globe subscribers who have a Facebook account and have viewed videos on bostonglobe.com.
Facebook, which rebranded to Meta in October, faced a separate class action lawsuit in January over claims the company illegally collected the biometric data of minors.
Are you a Boston Globe subscriber? You may be eligible to join a free magazine and website personal information disclosure lawsuit investigation!
The plaintiff is represented by David S. Godkin and James E. Kruzer of Birnbaum & Godkin, LLP, Joshua D. Arisohn, Philip L. Fraietta, and Christopher R. Reilly of Bursor & Fisher, P.A.
The Boston Globe Subscriber Data Facebook Share Class Action Lawsuit is Ambrose v. Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC, Case No. 1:22-cv-10195, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
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11 thoughts on$5M Boston Globe settlement over Facebook data sharing gets preliminary approval
The phone number is a recorded line with nothing regarding the fact the claim website is still not live though it says it will be live on June 23, 2023 – so I wrote an email to the settlement admin but no reply. It seems they will not be paying out anything since no one can file a claim – though I can print out a claim form and mail it in but its doubtful the address they give is an actual address the post office will recognize since this whole thing seems to be fake