Class actions accuse companies of sharing subscriber data with Facebook

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Facebook subscriber data sharing class action lawsuits overview: 

• Who: Several companies, including HGTV, Forbes, Paramount and Dotdash Meredith, have recently been accused of unlawfully sharing their subscribers’ info with Facebook. 
• Why: The class action lawsuits argue the companies are not allowed to share user information with Facebook without their consent. 
• Where: Facebook is used by consumers worldwide.

Consumers have recently fought back with class actions against companies they accuse of improperly sharing with Facebook their personal subscriber data. 

Earlier this month, a Forbes subscriber filed a class action lawsuit accusing the company of illegally collecting its subscribers’ personal information and then sharing it with Facebook. 

The Forbes subscriber argues the company collects personally identifiable information from its subscribers without their consent. 

Forbes allegedly shares information with Facebook regarding subscriber activity on its website, including the video clips they watch and the titles and hyperlinks they view. 

Forbes allegedly shares information with Facebook to help it match its subscribers with their Facebook profiles and thereby aid in targeted advertising and analytics tracking, the Facebook class action alleges. 

Paramount class action alleges company shares CBS.com subscriber info with Facebook

One of the Facebook class actions filed last month is against Paramount with a consumer claiming the company collects the data of its CBS.com subscribers and shares it with Facebook without their permission. 

Paramount allegedly violates the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) for allegedly using what is called the Facebook Tracking Pixel to automatically collect and transmit the data of CBS.com subscribers to the social networking company. 

The Facebook Tracking Pixel is purported to be able to capture actions or events that occur on a website employing it before sending a record back to Facebook, which processes and analyzes it, according to the class action. 

The consumers behind the class action lawsuit also accuse Paramount of allowing — through the use of cookies — Facebook to identify the unique visitors to its CBS.com website even if they do not have a Facebook account. 

People.com parent may be committing millions of privacy violations each year, says class action

In June, meanwhile, Dotdash Meredith, the parent company of People.com, faced claims it shares the video viewing records of its registered users to third parties, including Facebook, without their consent. 

In addition to allegedly violating the VPPA, Dotdash Meredith is being accused of violating the California Civil Code and several states’ consumer protection statutes. 

“Dotdash Meredith’s invasive disclosures violate the VPPA, which explicitly prohibits the disclosure of video-viewing records to a third party without the express written consent of the consumer of the video,” the class action states. 

The consumer behind the class action lawsuit argues that, since People.com allegedly records 29 million video views each month, it is likely that Dotdash Meredith commits hundreds of millions of privacy violations per annum. 

Similarly to Paramount, Dotdash Meredith is accused of using the Facebook Pixel to track and record the viewing behavior of People.com users, which is then sent to Facebook. 

HGTV accused of secretly sharing subscriber viewing history with Facebook 

In another of the Facebook class actions, in March, television network HGTV also faced accusations it was secretly sharing the viewing history of its subscribers with Facebook. 

A group of HGTV subscribers claim the company works with Facebook to benefit the social networking company’s advertisers and to boost its own bottom line. 

HGTV, the subscribers argue, shared with Facebook personally identifiable information such as the records of each video clip that they viewed on its website. 

“HGTV discloses this information so it can better match visitors to their Facebook profiles, which thereby allows HGTV to better track analytics and target its advertisements,” the Facebook class action states. 

What do you think of the Facebook class actions? Have you had your personal information shared with Facebook without your consent? Let us know in the comments! 

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• Forbes class action alleges company shares subscriber information with Facebook