Class Action Claims The Week Disclosed Magazine Subscribers’ Information Without Consent

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A proposed class action alleges The Week Publications, Inc. has unlawfully disclosed to third parties mailing lists that contain magazine subscribers’ private information.

According to the 25-page case, The Week magazine subscribers never gave the publisher permission to rent, exchange or otherwise disclose their information to data aggregators, appenders, cooperatives, list brokers and other third parties. The company nevertheless shared customers’ full names, home addresses and the titles of publications they subscribe to, among other details, including demographic information such as age and gender, with “anybody willing to pay for it,” the suit contests.

The lawsuit claims that The Week violated Michigan’s Preservation of Personal Privacy Act (PPPA), which prohibits entities who sell, rent or lend books or other written materials from disclosing customers’ identities.

Moreover, the case argues that by renting, exchanging or otherwise disclosing—rather than outright selling—subscribers’ information, The Week was able to share the data “time and time again [with] countless third parties” while “profit[ing] handsomely” at the expense of subscribers’ privacy rights.

The Week, according to the case, supplements its “vast digital database” of subscribers information with additional customer information provided by data aggregators and appenders. Per the case, the defendant’s data sharing practices have allowed the company to compile mailing lists that identify subscribers by “their most intimate details,” such as age and gender. These mailing lists are allegedly rented by or exchanged with other data aggregators and appenders, consumer-facing businesses, nonprofit organizations and political groups, among other third parties—all without subscribers’ knowledge or consent, the lawsuit alleges.

The case claims The Week’s data-sharing practices have put customers, especially “the more vulnerable members of society,” at risk of being targeted by scammers and other nefarious actors.

The plaintiff, a Cheboygan, Michigan resident who subscribed to The Week magazine, says the defendant’s allegedly unlawful disclosure of his information has caused him to receive “a barrage of unwanted junk mail.”

The plaintiff looks to represent Michigan residents who, at any time during the relevant period prior to July 30, 2016, had their private reading information disclosed to third parties by The Week without their consent.

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