Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
UPDATE:
- The National Football League (NFL) can’t escape a class action lawsuit alleging it illegally shares the personal video-watching information of Android users on its NFL App to Google for marketing purposes, a Rhode Island federal judge ruled.
- On Sept. 12, U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy granted the NFL’s motion to dismiss claims based on Rhode Island’s Video Rental Privacy Act, but said that the federal Video Privacy Protection Act claim could move forward.
- Plaintiff Daniel Louth claims in a class action lawsuit filed in October that NFL Enterprises LLC sends the private data of Android users of the NFL App to Anvato, a Google-affiliated video platform.
- Louth alleges the practice is a violation of the VPPA, a law that regulates what providers can share in terms of what videos an individual requests.
NFL App Data Sharing Class Action Lawsuit Overview:
- Who: The National Football League has filed a motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit lobbied against the organization by Daniel Louth.
- Why: The NFL disputes Louth’s claims that it violates the law by sending the personal information of Android users of its NFL App to Google.
- Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Rhode Island federal court.
(Dec. 17, 2021)
The National Football League (NFL) has filed a motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit alleging it privately shares the personal video-watching information of Android users of its NFL App to Google for marketing purposes.
Plaintiff Daniel Louth claims in a class action lawsuit filed in October that NFL Enterprises LLC sends the private data of Android users of the NFL App to Anvato, a Google-affiliated video platform.
Louth alleges the practice is a violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act and a separate Rhode Island law that regulates what providers can share in terms of what videos an individual requests.
The NFL, meanwhile, is arguing in its motion that the allegations are “an exercise in conjecture and overreach” and that they should be dismissed with prejudice.
Further, the organization claims state law only protects individuals who purchase, lease, rent or borrow a video, and that Louth himself admits the data the app transmits is an anonymized string of numbers and not “actual video titles.”
“Plaintiff seeks to turn ordinary, back-end app functions used to provide video content requested by users into the basis for a nationwide class action,” the NFL says in its motion to dismiss.
Plaintiff Claims Data Could Be Cross-Referenced To Identify Individuals
The NFL claims that relevant information is sent to Google when an Android user streams a video, which Anvato hosts and helps monetize by inserting advertising breaks, helping keep the App free.
Louth argues the information sent from the NFL App to Google could be cross referenced with other data Google has to “identify and match particular individuals to particular video content and analyze their video-viewing behavior,” according to the motion.
The NFL counters, however, that Louth does not actually allege that Google does this so-called “detective work,” which it claims would violate its terms of service.
“Plaintiff is asking the court to credit as fact what is only his specula!on: that if Anvato is capable of linking
to video titles, and Google is capable of linking those video titles to specific individuals, then they both must be doing so,” the NFL said.
Have you watched a video on the NFL App from your Android device? Let us know in the comments!
The plaintiff is represented by Stephen M. Prignano of McIntyre Tate LLP and Max Roberts of Bursor & Fisher PA.
The NFL App Data Sharing Class Action Lawsuit is Louth v. NFL Enterprises LLC, Case No. 1:21-cv-00405, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island.
Don’t Miss Out!
Check out our list of Class Action Lawsuits and Class Action Settlements you may qualify to join!
Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:
- Vail Resorts Employees Sue for Unpaid Wages in Class Action
- City of Chicago Employees Sue Over Vaccine Mandate, an ‘Involuntary Game of Monty Hall’
- NFL’s Latest Request To Halt Painkiller Class Action Should be Denied, Argue Former Players
- Minor League Baseball Players Cite Tweet by Mets Owner Steve Cohen in MLB Compensation Class Action
4 thoughts onNFL class action over app’s data privacy concerns to proceed
I bough nfl gamepass twice and each time the app let me down trwmendously. Buggy and lags a lot. Now they are violating our privacy. I never recieved a refund when complaining the app doesnt work most of the time
I have had the app for years. Probably go on it at least three or four times a week if not more especially during season
please add me
Add me