Viki.com Secretly Shares Subscriber Data with Facebook, Class Action Alleges

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A proposed class action lawsuit claims video streaming service Viki, Inc. secretly shares subscribers’ personal data with Meta Platforms (Facebook) without consent.

Are you a Massachusetts or California resident who’s signed up for Viki.com and has a Facebook account? Let us know here.

The 18-page lawsuit alleges that Viki—the world’s leading platform for Asian entertainment and subsidiary of Japanese internet services company Rakuten Group, Inc.—has violated the federal Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) by “knowingly” transmitting subscribers’ personal information to Facebook through its website, Viki.com, without express consent.

To transmit subscriber data, the suit says, Viki.com utilizes a Meta pixel, a piece of embedded programming code that enables Facebook to collect website visitors’ information and activity for advertising purposes.

The case alleges that when a user visits Viki.com, the Meta tracking pixel captures and transmits to Facebook the title and URL of any videos they view and the consumer’s Facebook ID—a unique identifier linked to an individual’s Facebook profile. By disclosing a visitor’s Facebook ID, Viki thereby provides enough data to connect a consumer to his or her content preferences and behavior, the complaint relays.

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“Thus, equipped with a [Facebook ID] and the video content name and URL—all of which Viki knowingly provides to Meta without appropriate consent from its members—any ordinary person could determine the identity of the Viki member and the specific video or media content they viewed on Viki’s website,” the filing charges.

The lawsuit argues that the defendant “made the conscious decision” to embed a tracking pixel into Viki.com in an attempt to more effectively advertise its services to consumers on Facebook and thereby increase profits.

The plaintiffs—residents of Maryland, California and Illinois—are Viki subscribers who claim to often use the streaming service to watch Asian TV shows or movies. As the case tells it, the plaintiffs did not consent at any point to share their personal data with Facebook via Viki.com.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in the United States who, since January 1, 2013, subscribed to Viki.com, viewed video content and used Facebook during the time a Meta pixel was active on the website.

Are you a Massachusetts or California resident who’s signed up for Viki.com and has a Facebook account? Let us know here.