Gannett Shares Subscribers’ Private Reading Information Michigan Class Action

This class action brings suit against a version of Michigan’s Preservation of Personal Privacy Act (PPPA) which was in effect until July 30, 2016. The complaint alleges that Gannett Co. has violated the PPPA by renting subscriber lists and thus disclosing its subscribers’ Private Reading Information to third parties without consent.

The class for this action is all Michigan residents who, at any point during the pre-July 30, 2016 time period, had their Private Reading Information disclosed to third parties by Gannett without their consent.

The complaint quotes the PPPA as saying, “[A] person, or an employee or agent of the person, engaged in the business of selling at retail, renting, or lending books or other written materials … shall not disclose to any person, other than the customer, a record or information concerning the purchase … of those materials by a customer that indicates the identity of the customer.”

The plaintiff for this class action, Christepher Batts, subscribes to the newspaper USA Today from Gannett. He alleges that the company disclosed this to data aggregators, data cooperatives, political organizations, and nonprofit companies, without his permission. Because of that, he says, he received what the complaint calls “a barrage of unwanted junk mail.” He therefore claims that Gannett has violated the PPPA.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has remarked on the size and value of the market for information that can help advertisers target customers: “Most consumers cannot begin to comprehend the types and amount of information collected by businesses, or why their information may be commercially valuable. Data is currency. The larger the data set, the greater potential for analysis—and profit.”

The complaint alleges, “Data aggregation is especially troublesome when consumer information is sold to direct-mail advertisers. In addition to causing waste and inconvenience, direct-mail advertisers often use consumer information to lure unsuspecting consumers into various scams, including fraudulent sweepstakes, charities, and buying clubs.” Databases of consumer information may be sold to thieves or may put consumers “within the reach of fraudulent telemarketers” and other criminals, the complaint claims.

According to the complaint, “[i]nformation disclosures like those made by Gannett are particularly dangerous to the elderly” who are frequent targets of fraud.

The complaint alleges, “Gannett maintains a vast digital database comprised of its customers’ Private Reading Information. Gannett discloses its customers’ Private Reading Information to data aggregators and appenders, who then supplement that information with additional sensitive private information about each Gannett customer, including his or her gender and interests.”

Gannet has never gotten its customers permission to disclose their information, the complaint says: “Gannett never required the individual to read or affirmatively agree to any terms of service, privacy policy, or other information-sharing policy” when they subscribed to its publications.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Privacy
Tags: Exposing Private Information, Reading Listening Viewing Material, Sharing Personal Information with Third Parties, Using Your Private Information Without Consent, Your Privacy