VPPA Legal Investigations: Is Your Video Data Being Shared with Third Parties?  

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org suspect that some companies may be violating the federal Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) by sharing consumers’ private information without consent.

Specifically, they believe certain televisions, websites, streaming platforms (and, in some cases, their associated apps) may be using tracking tools or other technology to secretly transmit details about users and the videos they’ve watched to third parties.

The attorneys are now looking to pursue claims over these potential privacy violations and are gathering consumers who want to participate.   

Keep reading for a summary on each investigation – including more details on which users may be affected and what data could be getting shared. Each summary will also include a link to a form where users can sign up and join others taking action.

Which Companies Are Under Investigation?

Sony Smart TVs: Was Your Data Shared?

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org believe that Sony may equip the consumer models of its smart TVs with Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) software, which records and analyzes all video and audio played through the TV, potentially violating federal privacy laws, including the Video Privacy Protection Act and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.

The attorneys also suspect that Sony may use the data collected by the ACR software to build unique behavioral profiles for individual users and potentially share them with third-party advertisers, all without users’ consent.

Affected consumers are now being gathered to take action against Sony. If you are 18 or older and purchased any standard, consumer-model Sony smart TV within the last two years, join others taking action by filling out the form linked below.

Sony Smart TV Owners Sign Up Here

This investigation is sponsored by Bryson, Harris, Suciu, DeMay PLLC.

VIZIO Smart TV Data Privacy Investigation

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org believe that VIZIO may have equipped its smart TVs with Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) software, which records and analyzes all video and audio played through the TV set, potentially violating the Video Privacy Protection Act and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.

The attorneys suspect that VIZIO may use the data supposedly collected by the ACR software to develop unique profiles for individual users based on their viewing history, which the company may then, without consent, use for marketing purposes or share with third parties.

The attorneys are now gathering affected consumers to take action against the company. If you are 18 or older and purchased a VIZIO smart TV within the last two years, join others taking action by filling out the form linked below.

VIZIO Smart TV Owners Sign Up Here

This investigation is sponsored by Bryson, Harris, Suciu, DeMay PLLC.

TCL Smart TV Privacy Violations?

Television manufacturer TCL claims that “after spending nearly 40 years at the forefront of consumer technology, TCL has pushed the boundaries of what’s possible,” but is it also pushing the boundaries of your privacy?

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org suspect that TCL’s Smart TVs may employ Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) to record and analyze all video and audio played through a TV set and connected devices, including streaming devices and video game consoles, potentially violating consumers’ privacy rights.

Further, the attorneys believe that the material supposedly collected and analyzed by the ACR software may be used by TCL to build unique behavioral profiles for individual consumers, which may then be used for marketing purposes or shared with third-party advertisers without consent.

Affected consumers are now being gathered to take legal action against TCL over potential violations of their privacy rights under the Video Privacy Protection Act and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. If you are 18 or older and bought a TCL Smart TV within the last two years, join others taking action by filling out the form linked below.

TCL TV Owners Sign Up Here

This investigation is sponsored by Bryson, Harris, Suciu, DeMay PLLC.

Is Your LG Smart TV Secretly Sharing Your Data?

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org believe that consumer models of LG Smart TVs may be embedded with Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) software, potentially violating federal privacy laws, including the Video Privacy Protection Act and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.

ACR software records and analyzes the video and audio played on a television set and connected devices, such as video game consoles and streaming devices. The attorneys believe that LG may then use the information gathered, without users’ consent, to create unique behavioral profiles of individual users for marketing purposes and potentially share them with third-party advertisers.

If you are 18 or older and bought any standard consumer model LG Smart TV within the last two years, join others taking action by filling out the form linked below.

LG Smart TV Owners Sign Up Here

This investigation is sponsored by Bryson, Harris, Suciu, DeMay PLLC.

Is Popsugar Secretly Sharing Users’ Data?

Popsugar.com, which began as a pop culture blog in 2005 and now features lifestyle content tailored to women, is being investigated by attorneys working with ClassAction.org for potential privacy violations.

They believe Popsugar may be using tracking software from Google to gather data about website visitors, including which fitness videos they watch. This information could be getting compiled with users’ personal information, such as IDs linking to their individual Google accounts, and passed along to Google—all without users’ permission.

Now, attorneys are gathering affected Popsugar subscribers to take legal action via mass arbitration.

If you subscribe to any Popsugar newsletter (such as The Popsugar Newsletter, Popsugar Fitness or Popsugar Shopping), have a Google account and watched fitness videos on Popsugar.com within the past two years, join others signing up by filling out the form at the link below.

Popsugar Users Sign Up Here

This investigation is sponsored by Milberg, LLC.

Is This a VPPA Class Action Lawsuit? What Am I Signing Up For, Exactly?

You are not signing up for a VPPA lawsuit, but rather a process known as mass arbitration. This is a relatively new legal technique that, like a class action lawsuit, allows a large group of people to take action and seek compensation from a company over an alleged wrongdoing. Here is a quick explanation of mass arbitration from our blog:

“[M]ass arbitration occurs when hundreds or thousands of consumers file individual arbitration claims against the same company over the same issue at the same time. The aim of a mass arbitration proceeding is to grant relief on a large scale (similar to a class action lawsuit) for those who sign up.”

Some companies’ terms of use may contain a class action waiver and/or an arbitration clause requiring users to resolve disputes via arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution that takes place outside of court before a neutral arbitrator, as opposed to a judge or jury. It’s for this reason that attorneys working with ClassAction.org have decided to handle these matters as mass arbitrations rather than class action lawsuits.

How Much Does This Cost?

It costs nothing to sign up, and you’ll only need to pay if the attorneys win money on your behalf. Their payment will come as a percentage of your award.

If they don’t win your claim, you don’t pay.

How Much Money Could I Get?

There are no guarantees as to how much money you could get or whether your claim will be successful. The VPPA, however, provides that companies may be responsible for paying consumers $2,500 for violations of the law. 

VPPA Explained

The federal Video Privacy Protection Act was enacted in 1988 after a Washington, D.C., newspaper published a profile of Supreme Court nominee Robert H. Bork based on a list of his movie rentals from a local video store. The law made it illegal for a “video tape service provider” to disclose consumers’ personally identifiable information without their consent. Under the VPPA, “personally identifiable information” includes information that identifies a person as having requested or obtained specific video materials or services from a video tape service provider.

The VPPA provides that anyone who is “aggrieved” by a violation of the law is entitled to damages of no less than $2,500.

While brick-and-mortar video stores have grown increasingly rare since the VPPA came into effect in 1988, the law has more recently been cited in lawsuits against website operators. According to the cases, streaming platforms and other websites that offer video content could be considered video tape service providers as defined by the VPPA. The lawsuits argue that it is a violation of the federal privacy law for a website operator offering video content to share the titles of the videos its users watch with third parties via analytics and other tracking tools, including the Meta pixel. Per the cases, the website operators are essentially sharing information that identifies users as having requested or obtained video materials without obtaining their written consent.

Pixel Video Privacy Concerns: How Could My Data Be Getting Shared?

Many website and app operators gather data about users through invisible tracking tools that operate in the background.

For instance, the Meta (formerly known as Facebook) pixel, which can be embedded on any webpage, can be programmed to record every action a visitor takes, such as the buttons they click, the searches they perform and the content they view. 

Attorneys are specifically looking into whether the companies mentioned above are tracking which videos its users have watched and sending that information to third parties along with a unique ID that could potentially be used to match up a specific person with the videos they’ve watched on the website.

In general, the data collected by a website through pixels can be used by both the website operator and third parties to better target advertisements to their users.

It’s believed these suspected data sharing practices may violate the federal Video Privacy Protection Act, which prohibits “video tape service providers” from disclosing to third parties any information that identifies the video materials a person has requested or watched without their consent.

VPPA Settlements: Successful Data Privacy Cases 

Some VPPA cases have successfully been resolved through class action settlements, resulting in payouts for those covered.

One lawsuit filed against AMC Networks resulted in a settlement on behalf of registered users of AMC+, Shudder, Acorn TV, ALLBLK, SundanceNow and HIDIVE who requested or obtained video content through at least one of those services. The deal allowed covered individuals to file claims for a share of the $8.3 million settlement fund.

Another class action settlement covered certain individuals who subscribed to FloSports’ services and requested or obtained video content on any FloSports website. Under the settlement, FloSports agreed to deposit $2.625 million into a fund from which claimants would be paid.

Similarly, Boston Globe reached a $4 million settlement with digital subscribers who viewed videos on the newspaper’s website. In that case, the VPPA claim payout was estimated to be between $20 and $40 per person.

It’s important to note that although the VPPA provides statutory damages of $2,500 per violation, lawsuits under the statute may settle for smaller amounts. Because each case is different, it’s difficult to estimate a VPPA class action settlement amount for any specific case.

It’s also worth noting that although the above cases were all class action lawsuits, the attorneys working with ClassAction.org are pursuing mass arbitration against the companies listed on this page, which is a different type of legal action that takes place outside of court. Thus, the outcomes could be different from the class action settlements mentioned.

Previous Investigations

The following investigations are complete, and attorneys are no longer signing up affected consumers. 

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