Envato Elements Shares Subscribers’ Video-Viewing History with Facebook, Class Action Claims
Plotsker v. Envato Pty Ltd. et al.
Filed: May 28, 2024 ◆§ 2:24-cv-04412
The companies behind Envato Elements face a class action that claims the online platform secretly tracks and shares subscribers’ personal information with Meta.
California
The companies behind Envato Elements face a proposed class action that claims the online platform secretly tracks and shares subscribers’ personal information with Meta (formerly Facebook).
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According to the 22-page privacy lawsuit, Envato Elements is a subscription service that allows customers to download stock photos, video templates, royalty-free music and other content from its library of digital assets. What subscribers don’t know, the case alleges, is that defendants Envato Pty Ltd. and Envato Elements Pty Ltd. have embedded a tracking tool into Elements.Envato.com that records which video clips they view or download and transmits this data to Meta.
The complaint specifies that Envato Elements shares this information via the Meta pixel, a piece of code website operators can program to track how visitors interact with their platform, including what pages they view or buttons they click. Facebook then processes, analyzes and assimilates this information into datasets used for targeted advertising purposes, the suit says.
Per the filing, these transmissions also reveal subscribers’ Facebook IDs, which are unique identifiers that can be used to match the individual’s video-viewing and downloading behavior with their Facebook profile.
“Anyone can identify a Facebook profile—and all personal information publicly listed on that profile, including a person’s first and last name—by appending the Facebook ID to the end of Facebook.com,” the lawsuit reads. “For example, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook ID is four and the URL ‘www.facebook.com/4’ will take you to Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook page.”
The complaint claims Envato Elements’ conduct violates the Video Privacy Protection Act, a federal law that prohibits “video tape service provider[s]” from disclosing information about the videos an individual has requested or watched without first obtaining their consent.
The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in the United States who subscribed to Envato Elements and, while having a Facebook account, viewed or downloaded prerecorded video content on Elements.Envato.com when the Meta pixel was active on the website.
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