Chevrolet class action claims automaker eavesdrops on private customer chats

Chevrolet class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: Plaintiffs Noelle D’Angelo and Anthony D’Angelo filed a class action lawsuit against The General Motors Company d/b/a Chevrolet.
• Why: The Chevrolet customer chat feature is allegedly secretly integrated with third-party software that allegedly “eavesdrops” on customer chats without their consent, in violation of California law.
• Where: The Chevrolet class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court.
• What are my options: Microsoft offers personal data security options.

The General Motors Company d/b/a Chevrolet allegedly eavesdrops on customers’ private chats, according to a class action lawsuit filed May 26 in California federal court.

Plaintiffs Noelle D’Angelo and Anthony D’Angelo allege Chevrolet secretly integrated third-party software that surreptitiously wiretaps and eavesdrops on customers’ private conversations without their consent in violation of the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) and California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL).

The CIPA prohibits wiretapping and eavesdropping on electronic communications without the consent of all parties to the communication, the Chevrolet class action lawsuit explains.

Chevrolet customer chat conversations routed through third-party server without customer knowledge, plaintiffs say

The plaintiffs claim that Chevrolet has allowed at least one third-party application programming interface, Liveperson.net, to intercept Chevrolet customer chat information without users’ knowledge and consent.

Whenever a chat message is sent through Chevrolet’s website, it is allegedly routed through Liveperson.net’s server, enabling the software to analyze, interpret, and collect Chevrolet customer chat information in real time, according to the plaintiffs.

They claim that the information collected by Liveperson.net can be used to create targeted content for the customer, categorizing them based on their attributes to tailor their experience, and create a customized user experience on the website.

Customers who believe they are chatting with a Chevrolet representative have allegedly been asked to provide their birthdates and genders, information that Liveperson.net uses to exclude visitors who may be too young for a product or display different wording based on a customer’s gender.

“Given the nature of [Chevrolet’s] business, visitors often share highly sensitive personal data with defendant via the website’s chat feature,” the Chevrolet class action lawsuit says.“Visitors would be shocked and appalled to know that defendant secretly records those conversations and allows a third party to secretly eavesdrop on these recorded conversations in real time under the guise of ‘data analytics.’”

The plaintiffs filed the Chevrolet class action lawsuit on behalf of a proposed class of persons in California who used the Chevrolet customer chat feature on its website and whose communications were recorded and/or eavesdropped upon by Liveperson.net or another third party without their consent.

Cheesecake Factory is also facing a class action lawsuit alleging it illegally recorded website visitors’ actions without their permission.

Have you used the Chevrolet customer chat feature? Tell us what you think of the allegations that private chat messages were collected without customers’ knowledge or consent!

The plaintiffs are represented by Ronald A. Marron, Alexis M. Wood, and Kas L. Gallucci of Law Offices of Ronald A. Marron and Brandon M. Wise and Andrew R. Tate of Peiffer Wolf Carr Cane Conway & Wise LLP.

The Chevrolet customer chat class action lawsuit is Noelle D’Angelo, et al. v. The General Motors Co. d/b/a Chevrolet, Case No. 3:23-cv-00985-WQH-DEB, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• Google Search referrer headers $23M class action settlement
• Sears class action claims retailer ‘eavesdrops’ on customer chats
• Zillow class action claims company makes unsolicited telemarketing calls
• Facebook takes on class action lawsuits, reaches settlements over privacy