Capital One Steals Content Creators’ Online Sales Commissions Through Shopping Extension, Class Action Claims [UPDATE]

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A proposed class action lawsuit accuses Capital One Financial Corporation and two subsidiaries of using the Capital One Shopping browser extension to hijack sales commissions owed to content creators who promote products online.

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The 21-page Capital One lawsuit was filed by a social media influencer who, like other affiliate marketers, earns commission payments when followers or viewers use her referral links to purchase products she promotes in partnership with online retailers. The suit claims that Capital One has been systematically stealing sales commissions from content creators such as the plaintiff through Capital One Shopping, a browser extension that searches for coupons that can be applied to items in a customer’s online shopping cart.

According to the case, online retailers rely on internet cookies to determine who gets credit for online referrals and product sales. When a consumer clicks an affiliate marketer’s referral link and then makes a purchase, a tracking tag uniquely associated with that influencer is placed on the shopper’s web browser so the content creator can be rightfully credited with the sale, the complaint explains.

However, the filing alleges that when a consumer activates Capital One Shopping at checkout, the extension “silently and invisibly” removes the affiliate marketer’s cookie and replaces it with its own tag. In doing so, Capital One takes credit for sales commissions it did not earn, the lawsuit charges.

The plaintiff, a Nebraska resident, says she relies on commissions from affiliate marketing links she shares on Facebook and X, formerly Twitter. The woman contends that she would have earned more but for Capital One’s alleged scheme to “usurp commissions” through its browser extension.

The case also names as defendants Wikibuy, LLC and Wikibuy Holdings, LLC, the original developers of the Capital One Shopping browser extension.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in the United States who participated in an affiliate commission program with a U.S.-based online merchant and had commissions diverted to Capital One as a result of the Capital One Shopping browser extension.

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