This privacy class action brings suit against Newsmax Media, Inc., alleging that it has unlawfully disclosed the Private Reading information of its Newsmax magazine subscribers to others, without their consent. The complaint alleges that Newsmax has thus violated Michigan’s Preservation of Personal Privacy Act (PPPA), which attempts to keep this kind of information confidential.
The class for this action is all Michigan residents who, at any point during the pre-July 1, 2016 time period, had their Private Reading Information disclosed to third parties by Newsmax without their consent. (The time period is the period before an amendment to the law went into effect. Although the statutory period for this case is six years, certain legal deadlines were suspended in Michigan during the Covid-19 emergency and again thereafter.)
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.”
How do we know that Newsmax is sharing this kind of information? Page 4 of the complaint shows a screenshot of a webpage from list broker NextMark, Inc., offering a “Newsmax MasterFile – Wiland Mailing List” of more than 200,000 subscribers at a base price of $135 per thousand.
Newsmax provides such information as names and addresses, and, the complaint alleges, “myriad other categories of individualized data and demographic information such as gender, age, and net worth” to data aggregators, data cooperatives, and list brokers.
The sharing of this information can be dangerous, the complaint alleges, because it can allow dishonest parties to target vulnerable members of society.
Direct-mail advertisers may also obtain the information. “In addition to causing waste and inconvenience,” the complaint alleges, “direct-mail advertisers often use consumer information to lure unsuspecting consumers into various scams, including fraudulent sweepstakes, charities, and buying clubs.” They often target the elderly, the complaint claims, because they are generally at home, may be lonely, and may have cash reserves or assets that they can access if offers seem attractive.
Consumers sign up for Newsmax’s subscriptions through different avenues, but the complaint claims that they are never asked to consent to any terms of service, privacy policy, or other information-sharing policy. Newsmax, the complaint says, therefore has not obtained its customers’ consent to the sharing of their information or even told them that it will be disclosing their information.
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Privacy
Most Recent Case Event
Newsmax Sharing of Magazine Subscriber Information PPPA Complaint
November 4, 2022
This privacy class action brings suit against Newsmax Media, Inc., alleging that it has unlawfully disclosed the Private Reading information of its Newsmax magazine subscribers to others, without their consent. The complaint alleges that Newsmax has thus violated Michigan’s Preservation of Personal Privacy Act (PPPA), which attempts to keep this kind of information confidential.
Newsmax Sharing of Magazine Subscriber Information PPPA ComplaintCase Event History
Newsmax Sharing of Magazine Subscriber Information PPPA Complaint
November 4, 2022
This privacy class action brings suit against Newsmax Media, Inc., alleging that it has unlawfully disclosed the Private Reading information of its Newsmax magazine subscribers to others, without their consent. The complaint alleges that Newsmax has thus violated Michigan’s Preservation of Personal Privacy Act (PPPA), which attempts to keep this kind of information confidential.
Newsmax Sharing of Magazine Subscriber Information PPPA Complaint