MasterClass class action claims company shares customer data with third parties

MasterClass class action lawsuit overview: 

• Who: Alan Silva and Elizabeth Malaty-Uhr filed a class action lawsuit against Yanka Industries Inc., which does business as MasterClass. 
• Why: Silva and Malaty-Uhr claim MasterClass, an online education company, unlawfully discloses the personal information of its subscribers with Meta and Google. 
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court. 

Online education company MasterClass for the past two years has unlawfully disclosed the personal information of its subscribers with Meta and Google, a third-amended class action lawsuit alleges. 

Plaintiff’s Alan Silva and Elizabeth Malaty-Uhr’s class action lawsuit claims MasterClass sells, transmits or otherwise discloses the records of its subscribers and detailed information about their purchase of a subscription to its video service. 

Silva and Malaty-Uhr argue MasterClass is violating the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) with the alleged sharing of its subscribers’ personally identifying video subscription information and personal viewing information. 

“Defendant violated Plaintiff Silva’s rights under the VPPA and invaded his statutorily conferred interest in keeping such information (which bears on his personal affairs and concerns) private,” the class action claims. 

Silva and Malaty-Uhr are seeking to represent two nationwide classes of individuals who, within the last two years, requested or obtained a MasterClass subscription while maintaining an account with either Meta or Google. 

MasterClass ‘systematically transmitted’ video subscription data to Meta, Google, class action says

Silva and Malaty-Uhr argue MasterClass uses the Meta Pixel to “systematically” transmit the personally identifying video subscription information of its subscribers with Meta and the Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager tracking technologies to share the specific viewing info of its subscribers with Google. 

“The information Defendant disclosed (and continues to disclose) to Google Analytics via the Google Tag Manager it installed on its website includes the specific video title and unique user data sufficient for identification of the subscriber,” the MasterClass class action says.

The plaintiffs demand a jury trial and request declaratory and injunctive relief along with an award of $2,500 — as provided by the VPPA — and punitive damages for themselves and all class members. 

In November, Capital One asked a California federal judge to dismiss a similar class action lawsuit filed against the financial holding company over claims it shared personal customer information with Meta, Google, Microsoft and other third parties without consent.

Have you requested or obtained a MasterClass subscription while maintaining an account with Meta or Google ? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by Frank S. Hedin of Hedin LLP. 

The MasterClass class action lawsuit is Silva, et al. v. Yanka Industries Inc., Case No. 3:24-cv-05264, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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