This class action brings suit against MeTV, a National Limited Partnership, claiming it shared the identities of subscribers, along with the videos they viewed, to Meta Platforms, Inc. The complaint alleges this is a violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA). The three plaintiffs have watched videos on MeTV and then “seen targeted advertisements on Faceboook after watching related videos on the MeTV website.”
The Nationwide Class for this action is all persons in the US who subscribed to MeTV, viewed prerecorded video content on MeTV, and used Facebook during the time Meta’s Pixel was active on MeTV, between January 1, 2013 and the present.
MeTV shows television shows from the 1930s through the 1990s, so that the complaint classifies it as a “video service provider” under the VPPA.
The complaint quotes the law as forbidding video service providers from knowingly revealing the personally identifiable information (PII) of consumers, including “information which identifies a person as having requested or obtained specific video materials or services from a video tape provider,” unless the consumer has expressly agreed to this disclosure, in a separate consent form.
The complaint alleges that MeTV has installed the Meta Pixel on its site, that is, a bit of code that sends information to Meta. The complaint alleges, “The Meta Pixel sends information to Meta in a data packet containing PII, such as the users’ IP address, name, email [address], or phone number” and also the person’s Facebook ID (FID). Meta stores the information transmitted to it in its own systems.
The transmission of the MeTV’s subscriber’s FID and video viewing history, the complaint alleges, are sent to Meta together, in a single transmission. The FID identifies the person’s Facebook account, which contains a profile and a lot of other information about the person, including their name, their home location, their career information, and photographs.
The complaint alleges that “Meta—or any other ordinary person—can use the FID to quickly and easily locate, access, and view the user’s corresponding Facebook profile. In other words, the Pixel allows Meta to know what video content one of its users viewed on MeTV’s website.”
MeTV’s users do not sign a standalone consent form to allow their information to be sent to Meta, as the VPPA requires, the complaint alleges. In fact, the complaint claims that they are not even aware that their video-viewing information is being sent to another party. “As a result,” the complaint alleges, “MeTV violates the VPPA by disclosing this information to Meta.”
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Privacy
Most Recent Case Event
MeTV Disclosure of Video Viewing Information VPPA Complaint
October 28, 2022
This class action brings suit against MeTV, a National Limited Partnership, claiming it shared the identities of subscribers, along with the videos they viewed, to Meta Platforms, Inc. The complaint alleges this is a violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA). The three plaintiffs have watched videos on MeTV and then “seen targeted advertisements on Faceboook after watching related videos on the MeTV website.”
MeTV Disclosure of Video Viewing Information VPPA ComplaintCase Event History
MeTV Disclosure of Video Viewing Information VPPA Complaint
October 28, 2022
This class action brings suit against MeTV, a National Limited Partnership, claiming it shared the identities of subscribers, along with the videos they viewed, to Meta Platforms, Inc. The complaint alleges this is a violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA). The three plaintiffs have watched videos on MeTV and then “seen targeted advertisements on Faceboook after watching related videos on the MeTV website.”
MeTV Disclosure of Video Viewing Information VPPA Complaint