Healthline Shares Website Visitors’ Info with Meta Without Consent, Class Action Claims [DISMISSED]
Last Updated on June 13, 2023
Hughley et al. v. Heathline Media, Inc.
Filed: September 6, 2022 ◆§ 3:22-cv-05059
Healthline Media faces a class action that alleges the website has illegally disclosed consumers’ personally identifiable information to Meta Platforms without consent.
California
June 8, 2023 – Healthline VPPA Class Action Dismissed, Plaintiff Can Try Again
The proposed class action detailed on this page was dismissed on May 24, 2023 with leave to amend the case.
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In a six-page order, U.S. District Judge James Donato granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss the case on the grounds that the plaintiff does not qualify as a “consumer” within the meaning of the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), which defines the term as “any renter, purchaser, or subscriber of goods or services from a video tape service provider.”
The plaintiff, who does not claim to be a renter or purchaser of Healthline’s services, says she is a subscriber because she gave the defendant her name and email address to join its email list.
Ultimately, Judge Donato was unpersuaded by the plaintiff’s argument that she is considered a subscriber under the VPPA since the court cannot discern whether the woman receives any kind of publication, good or service in exchange for signing up for Healthline’s email list.
“While the VPPA broadly protects paid and unpaid subscribers, not everything that might be labeled a ‘subscription’ automatically triggers the statute’s protections,” the judge wrote, stating that a VPPA subscriber is “not just someone who provides her name and address to a website, for some undisclosed purpose or benefit.”
Judge Donato directed the plaintiff to file an amended complaint by June 16, 2023.
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Healthline Media faces a proposed class action that alleges the medical information and advice website has illegally disclosed consumers’ personally identifiable information (PII) to Facebook and Instagram owner Meta Platforms without consent.
The 16-page filing says that the webpages on Healthline.com contain a snippet of programming code called a “Meta pixel” that can track users as they navigate through the website. The pixel can capture and record, for example, what searches a user performs and which items they have viewed or clicked on before then sending that information as a “data packet” to Meta, the case relays.
According to the suit, Healthline has run afoul of the federal Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), which prohibits “video tape service providers” from knowingly disclosing consumers’ personally identifiable information, including details that could identify a person as having “requested or obtained specific video materials or services,” without express consent.
In this case, Healthline has shared with Meta information that includes “at least” website visitors’ Facebook profile IDs and the full titles of videos they have watched, the lawsuit claims. A Facebook ID is linked to an individual’s Facebook profile, which generally contains “a wide range of demographic and other information” about a person, ranging from gender, birthday, address and education to pictures, personal interests, work history, and relationship status, the complaint states.
“Healthline discloses the user’s Facebook Profile ID and viewing content to Meta together in a single, unencrypted transmission, in violation of the VPPA,” the filing alleges, stressing that a Facebook profile ID can be used to uniquely identify any individual Facebook account. “In other words, Healthline’s use of the Meta Pixel allows Meta to know what video content its users viewed on its website.”
With information gathered via the Meta pixel, website owners are able to collect analytical data about how users interact with their website and, in turn, better target specific advertisements and promoted content and services, the lawsuit adds. Per the complaint, Meta benefits when websites install its pixel in that a business using the tracking tool “has a greater incentive to advertise through Facebook or other Meta-owned platforms, like Instagram.”
Per the lawsuit, the VPPA requires a “video service provider” to obtain consent in a form “distinct and separate from any form setting forth other legal or financial obligations of the consumer.” Healthline’s website does not provide a standalone consent form that discloses that user information will be shared through the Meta pixel, or requests user consent, the suit claims.
The case looks to represent all United States residents who requested and viewed video content on Healthline.com and were Facebook and/or Instagram users during the time the Meta pixel was active on Healthline’s website, and whose personally identifiable information and viewing content was disclosed to Meta through the pixel.
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