VPPA Class Actions Allege MLB.tv, FitOn Track Users' Viewing History Via Meta Pixel
Two streaming video apps violated the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) by integrating Meta tracking code into their platforms to disclose subscribers’ video viewing history to Meta for advertising and marketing purposes, said separate class actions against MLB.tv and FitOn.
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Bryan Henry, a resident of Redondo Beach, California, has been an MLB.tv subscriber since last year, which gave him access to view prerecorded video and media content on the MLB.tv website and app without ads, said a complaint (docket 1:24-cv-01446) Monday against the streaming service in U.S. District Court for Southern New York in Manhattan.
Henry also had a Facebook account during the period he used the baseball subscription. At times when Henry viewed baseball games through MLB.tv while logged into his Facebook account, his personal viewing information was disclosed to that platform, though he never gave the defendant express written consent to do so, it said.
To use MLB.tv, subscribers need to provide personally identifiable information (PII), including email address and birthdate, and on information and belief, they also have to provide their IP address, which informs the streaming service of subscribers’ city, ZIP code and physical location, the complaint said. The VPPA prohibits “video tape service providers,” such as MLB.tv, from knowingly disclosing PII that identifies a person as having obtained specific video materials or services without obtaining express consent, the complaint said.
MLB.tv collects and shares website and app users’ personal information with its third-party business partners via cookies, software development kits and tracking pixels, the complaint said. The Facebook pixel, installed on MLB.tv, tracks when subscribers enter the website or app and view media, then discloses to Facebook the subscribers’ viewed media and Facebook ID (FID) without their consent, it said. MLB.tv shares subscribers’ viewing information and FID as one data point to Facebook, which can use it to “quickly and easily locate, access, and view digital subscribers’ corresponding Facebook profile,” it said.
MLB's streaming service uses subscribers' personal viewing information to build more targeted advertising to generate more revenue and profits from the unauthorized disclosure of that information at the expense of subscribers’ privacy, the complaint said.
Henry claims MLB.tv violates the VPPA and he seeks an order requiring it to pay him and each class member statutory damages, plus punitive damages, prejudgment interest, restitution and attorneys’ fees and costs. MLB.tv didn’t comment Thursday.
In a class action in U.S. District Court for Central California in Los Angeles, Jennifer Endres of Bakersfield, California, requested and watched purchased videos on FitOn from June to September while logged into her Facebook account, said her Tuesday complaint (docket 2:24-cv-01589). By doing so, her FitOn video viewing history was disclosed to third parties without her express written consent, it said.
After users create an account and begin using the FitOn platform, the app collects additional “sensitive information” about them, including IP address, mobile device unique ID, user location, browser and device type, date and time a user visits the platform, pages visited and other data, said the complaint. FitOn uses cookies to store and access information on users’ devices to process their personal data or browsing history, it said.
Cookies allow FitOn to track information about how visitors use the FitOn platform, and they allow FitOn to identify individual users, whenever the user visits FitOn’s service or accesses it via a mobile device, the complaint said. While a subscriber is using FitOn on a mobile device, the service may collect information from the user’s phone’s contact list, pictures from the photo library and other information, it said.
FitOn integrated the Meta Pixel throughout its website, said the complaint. Website developers can choose to track actions taken on their website with the Pixel, and when a chosen action is taken, the Pixel is triggered, sending Meta certain data, it said. Meta attempts to match the events it receives to Meta users, it said. The developer can then create “custom audiences” based on certain events and target ads on Meta’s platforms, it said.
The data FitOn shares with Meta is tied to unique identifiers that link specific consumers with specific video content, the complaint said. Meta receives video content requested, plus the user’s Facebook ID, it said. FitOn also shares data points that disclose the page a consumer is viewing on the FitOn app, including the URL, subject matter and title of the videos selected for viewing, it said. Data transferred to Meta via the Pixel also discloses specific video purchases made by FitOn users “for the sole purpose of enabling targeted advertising” for FitOn’s benefit, it said.
Endres seeks a statutory award of $2,500 for herself and each class member under the VPPA, plus punitive damages, restitution and attorneys’ fees and costs. The “About” section on the FitOn website says all workouts and personalized fitness plans on the website “are 100% free with never anything to pay.” The company is “not selling your data or using it to target you with ads,” it said.