Meta Platforms Broadcasts Facebook Live Viewers’ Identities Without Consent, Class Action Says

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A proposed class action alleges Meta Platforms has run afoul of a federal privacy law by “broadcast[ing]” certain personally identifiable information of consumers who watch content on Facebook Live. 

The 14-page lawsuit alleges Meta has violated the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) by disclosing the full names and “specific video materials or services,” such as movies, performances and other virtual events, of those who use Facebook Live. Specifically, this information is disclosed to other viewers of a particular Facebook Live event, the case says. 

According to the complaint, the 1988 law generally prohibits any “video tape service provider” from knowingly disclosing consumers’ personally identifiable information, including information that identifies someone as having requested or obtained specific video materials or services from a video tape provider, without express consent obtained in a stand-alone form.

The suit states that Facebook Live events are held for a number of purposes and cover myriad topics, including politics, makeup, pop culture and more serious issues such as fertility preservation and HIV. The case relays that not only do many Facebook Live videos contain sensitive and intimate content, but they’re also often recorded in an individual’s private home. 

When a Facebook user watches video materials through a Live event, the platform identifies them by name and displays which of their “friends” are also watching, and simultaneously notifies the subscriber’s “friends” that they are viewing the event on Live, the complaint says. 

“Importantly, Facebook did not notify any of these subscribers that by joining the Facebook Live event, the specific video materials or services they requested from Facebook would be shared with third parties,” the case alleges. 

Per the filing, Facebook does not inform subscribers anywhere in its privacy materials, terms of service or on its website that it will identify them by name as well as share information about which specific video materials or services they may be viewing. 

The suit looks to cover all persons in the United States with a digital subscription to Facebook that utilized the Facebook Live tool and had their personally identifiable information disclosed to third parties through the use of Facebook Live. 

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