Patreon Discloses Subscriber Information to Facebook Without Consent, Class Action Alleges

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A proposed class action alleges Patreon has unlawfully disclosed digital subscribers’ identities and video-viewing preferences to Facebook without proper consent to do so. 

The 16-page lawsuit claims that Patreon, a platform through which subscribers can pay and support content creators for their work, has run afoul of the federal Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) by using a Facebook “pixel,” a snippet of programming code installed on a webpage, to collect and share users’ personal information with the social media company. 

In particular, Patreon has shared subscribers’ Facebook ID numbers, which are linked to individual Facebook profiles, and the titles of videos a person has watched, the suit alleges. Per the case, these two items reveal a wide range of demographic and other information about a user, including “pictures, personal interests, work history, relationship status, and other details.” 

“At no point are Patreon users informed about Patreon’s dissemination of their viewing content to a third party,” the complaint says. “Nor do Patreon users consent to such sharing, through a standalone consent form or otherwise. As a result, Patreon violates the VPPA by disclosing this information to Facebook.”

According to the lawsuit, Patreon, through the Facebook pixel, discloses subscriber data to the social media platform in a single transmission. Businesses such as Patreon use the pixel as an advertising tool, “in hopes of better targeting their products and services on Facebook to interested consumers,” the suit relays. Facebook, on the other hand, benefits from obtaining information about its users’ preferences, traits and web-browsing activity, the lawsuit says. 

The case states that a user’s Facebook ID is a unique identifier that can allow Facebook “or any other person” to quickly and easily locate the corresponding profile. 

“In simplest terms,” the suit reads, “the Pixel allows Facebook to know what video content one of its users viewed on Patreon’s website.” 

According to the lawsuit, Patreon’s terms of use, privacy policy, data practices and cookie policy fail to inform users that the company utilizes a Facebook tracking pixel on its webpages, or that their personal information and video content choices will be shared with the third party. 

The lawsuit looks to cover all persons in the United States who subscribed to Patreon.com, viewed video content on Patreon.com and used Facebook during the time the Facebook pixel was active on Patreon.com. 

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