Cruise Line Data Sharing Investigation: Were Your Privacy Rights Violated? 

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org suspect that certain major cruise lines may be illegally sharing consumers’ data with Facebook and are now looking into possible legal action.

Specifically, they believe RoyalCaribbean.com, CelebrityCruises.com, Princess.com and HollandAmerica.com may be using a tracking tool that secretly collects information about certain users as they navigate these sites and then sends this data to Facebook without consent. It’s possible that this information may contain private details about a user’s travel itinerary, such as the specific cruise package they booked, their departure dates and trip length, and departure and destination ports.

How Could Cruise Lines Be Sharing Data with Facebook?

Many website operators gather data about the people who visit their websites by using an invisible tracking tool called the Meta (formerly known as Facebook) pixel.

The 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. In general, the data collected by a website through the Meta pixel can be used by both the website operator and the social media giant to better target advertisements to their users.

In this case, attorneys are specifically looking into whether RoyalCaribbean.com, CelebrityCruises.com, Princess.com and HollandAmerica.com are tracking users as they book their travel plans and sending that information to Meta along with each person’s Facebook ID. A Facebook ID is a unique identifier linked to an individual’s Facebook profile and could potentially be used to match up a specific person with the actions they took on these websites.

Attorneys believe that the websites' suspected data-sharing practices may violate certain wiretapping laws, which prohibit the interception and disclosure of an individual’s electronic communications without their permission. 

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

You are not signing up for a 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.”

The terms of use that apply to RoyalCaribbean.com, CelebrityCruises.com, Princess.com and HollandAmerica.com state that users resolve disputes through 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 this matter as a mass arbitration rather than a class action lawsuit. 

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. However, certain states’ privacy laws specify that consumers whose rights are violated could be owed anywhere from $100 to $5,000 each. 

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