Target class action claims retailer collects private info through email trackers

Target class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: Plaintiff Kiloh Smith filed a class action lawsuit against Target Corp.
• Why: Target allegedly unlawfully collects private information from consumers who open the retailer’s marketing emails.
• Where: The Target class action lawsuit was filed in Arizona federal court.

A new Target class action claims the retail giant violates its email subscribers’ privacy by embedding hidden spy pixel trackers in its emails.

In the lawsuit, filed May 7 in Arizona federal court, plaintiff Kiloh Smith says he subscribes to the Target email list and was unaware that Target Corp. was using hidden spy pixel trackers to capture and log sensitive information.

This information includes when and where subscribers open email messages, how long they spend reading the email, their IP address, device information and whether the email was forwarded, Smith claims.

Target email tracking violates Arizona law, plaintiff claims

Because Smith never consented to this kind of data collection when he signed up to receive Target emails, he claims Target is violating Arizona’s Telephone, Utility and Communication Service Record Act.

This Arizona law prohibits companies from collecting or attempting to collect communication records of email recipients without their consent, Smith alleges. 

“[Target’s] invasive surveillance of plaintiff’s sensitive reading habits and clandestine collection of his confidential email records invaded his privacy and intruded upon his seclusion,” the Target class action lawsuit says.

Target class action: spy pixel tracks consumers’ behavior without consent

The spy pixel allegedly allows Target to track the individual behavior of the Target email recipient, including the activation of links in the message. The retailer can also track the marketing impact of the email, including a list of pages the consumer visited after viewing the email, the Target class action lawsuit claims.

Arizona law allows state residents to pursue civil remedies for violations of the law, the lawsuit explains. Smith seeks to represent himself and a proposed class of persons in Arizona who opened a Target email containing a tracking pixel.

Another recent Target class action lawsuit accuses the retailer of unlawfully using advanced video surveillance systems to collect the biometric data of thousands of Illinois residents without consumers’ knowledge and consent.

Do you subscribe to the Target email list? Let us know what you think about the hidden spy pixel tracker allegations in the comments.

Smith is represented by Gerald Barrett of Ward Keenan & Barrett PC and Yitzchak Kopel of Bursor & Fisher PA.

The Target email class action lawsuit is Kiloh Smith v. Target Corporation, Case No. 2:24-cv-01048-ROS, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.

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