Paramount seeks dismissal of data-sharing class action

Update: 

• Paramount Global asked a New York federal court to throw out a class action lawsuit accusing the mass media and entertainment conglomerate of disclosing viewer data to third parties without consent. 
• The company argues the California man behind the complaint consented to the “exact disclosures” he alleges violated the Video Privacy Protection Act, barring his claims. 
• Paramount further argues the complaint, among other things, failed to plausibly allege it knowingly disclosed personally identifiable information as defined in the VPPA. 
• The Paramount class action claims the entertainment giant embedded tracking tools within its Paramount+ streaming platform that unlawfully shared video-viewing data containing unique users with third parties. 

Paramount+ class action overview: 

• Who: A Paramount+ consumer sued Paramount Global.
• Why: The plaintiff says the streaming giant discloses viewer data to third parties without their consent.
• Where: The Paramount+ class action was filed in a New York federal court.

(Nov. 7, 2024)

Paramount faces a new class action lawsuit alleging the streaming giant disclosed its viewers’ data to third parties without their consent.

Plaintiff Victor Cho filed the class action complaint against Paramount Global on Nov. 1 in a New York federal court, alleging violations of the Video Privacy Protection Act. The VPPA is a federal law that prohibits video service providers from disclosing users’ personally identifiable information without their consent.

The class action lawsuit alleges Paramount embedded tracking tools within its Paramount+ streaming platform, allowing data like the titles of videos watched to be shared with third parties with unique user identifiers. 

This setup allegedly enabled Facebook and TikTok to gather information about users’ viewing habits and personal identities via tracking technologies, such as the Facebook Pixel and TikTok’s pixel tools, according to the lawsuit.

Cho says he was unaware of this practice and did not consent to the sharing of his personal information with platforms outside of Paramount.

Tracking tools financially benefit Paramount, class action claims

Paramount’s alleged sharing of such data with unauthorized parties without consumer knowledge is a direct violation of the VPPA, the lawsuit says.

“Paramount’s motivation for using the Facebook Pixel and other tracking tools is simple—it financially benefits Paramount in the form of advertising and information services that Paramount would otherwise have to pay for,” the class action states.

The lawsuit also says Paramount controls what data it tracks and transmits through its streaming platform, emphasizing that these tracking tools are not essential to the functionality of Paramount+. 

Cho seeks to represent a class of Paramount users who may have been affected by these alleged practices. He’s seeking certification of the class action, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial.  

A similar Capital One class action lawsuit alleges the financial institution shares personal customer information with Meta, Google, Microsoft and other third parties without their consent.

What do you think of the allegations in this Paramount+ class action? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiff is represented by Adrian Gucovschi, Benjamin Rozenshtey and Nathaniel Sari of Gucovschi Rozenshteyn PLLC.

The Paramount+ class action is Victor Cho v. Paramount Global, Case No. 1:24-cv-08312, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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