Class Action Lawsuit Claims LifeLong Adoptions Secretly Shares Website Visitor Data with Facebook, Google

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A proposed class action lawsuit accuses LifeLong Adoptions, Inc. of secretly sharing website visitors’ personal information with third parties, including Facebook and Google, without permission.

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The 61-page lawsuit claims that unbeknownst to consumers, third-party tracking tools installed on LifeLongAdoptions.com quietly capture and transmit sensitive user data to Facebook and Google, which then use the information for targeted marketing. By knowingly embedding third-party tracking technology onto its website without notice or consent, the adoption agency has “chosen to prioritize its marketing efforts over its customers’ privacy,” the suit alleges.

According to the case, visitors use LifeLongAdoptions.com to seek information or a consultation about adopting or placing a child up for adoption. On the website, a consumer can download informational material such as the “Ultimate Adoption Guide,” take a “Birthmother Communication Quiz” to identify the type of adoption that might suit them best or use the “Family Finder” application to review potential families seeking to adopt a child, the complaint says.

However, visitors are not informed that tracking pixels, cookies and other invisible software provided by Facebook and Google are recording their movements on the website and harvesting personally identifiable information, the filing contends. The LifeLong Adoptions lawsuit asserts that the private data disclosed through this technology includes the webpages a user views, the amount of time they spend on a page, any buttons or links they click, what information they download from the website, details about their device and browser, and more.

The plaintiffs—residents of California and Pennsylvania, respectively—claim their personal information was shared with Facebook and Google as a result of their use of LifeLongAdoptions.com. The women say they were never informed about the data-sharing practices and at no point authorized the company to disclose their information to third parties.

“Nevertheless, through the Tracking Tools, [LifeLong Adoptions] intentionally and willfully shared the Sensitive Information with Google, the largest advertiser and compiler of user information, or Facebook, the largest social media company on earth, both of which have a sordid history of privacy violations in pursuit of ever-increasing advertising revenue,” the case charges.

The lawsuit looks to represent all individuals in the United States who used LifeLongAdoptions.com to research their options in connection with a pregnancy, request information or a consultation, use the “Family Finder” application, or take the “Birthmother Communication Quiz,” and whose sensitive information was disclosed or transmitted to Facebook, Google or any other unauthorized third party.

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