Is Hulu Sharing User Data with Facebook? Attorneys Investigate Potential Privacy Violations

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org are gathering Hulu subscribers to take action against the company over potential privacy violations.

More specifically, the attorneys have reason to believe that Hulu may have used a tracking tool called the Facebook pixel on Hulu.com to record subscribers’ actions – including the videos they stream, the buttons they click and what they search for – and then shared this data with Facebook along with subscribers’ personal information.

It’s suspected that Hulu may have violated the federal Video Privacy Protection Act by sharing consumers’ private information without their consent.

How Could Hulu Be Sharing Data with Facebook?

Many websites use a tracking tool called the Facebook pixel to gather data about site visitors and their online activities.

The pixel can be programmed to record any action a visitor takes – such as the content they view, the buttons they click and the searches they perform – and this data is then shared with Facebook, who can use it for advertising purposes.

For people who subscribed to Hulu, it’s possible that the pixel may also track and disclose their personal information, such as their names, email addresses, phone numbers and Facebook IDs – unique identifiers that can be used to pinpoint users’ Facebook profiles.

It’s believed that 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.

In light of this, the attorneys working with ClassAction.org are now gathering Hulu subscribers to take action against the company over potential privacy violations by way of mass arbitration.

What Is Mass Arbitration? Is This a Lawsuit?

Mass arbitration is a type of legal proceeding that, while different from a class action lawsuit, still allows a group of consumers to take action against a company over an alleged wrongdoing.

In this case, the Hulu subscriber agreement requires users to waive their right to file a class action lawsuit and agree to resolve their disputes through arbitration, which is a form of alternative dispute resolution that takes place outside of court before a third-party arbitrator instead of a judge or jury. As a result, the attorneys have decided to handle the matter through mass arbitration. Here’s an explanation of the process 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."

How Much Does This Cost?

It doesn’t cost anything to sign up for the mass arbitration, and if the attorneys don’t win your claim, you don’t pay. If the attorneys win money on your behalf, they will be paid a percentage of the amount you’re awarded.

How Much Could I Get?

While the amount consumers could get is not set in stone, the Video Privacy Protection Act provides that companies who violate the law could have to pay up to $2,500 to each victim.

What You Can Do

If you’re also a Disney+ or ESPN+ subscriber and watched videos on DisneyPlus.com or plus.ESPN.com, you can sign up for similar mass arbitrations for those services using the links below.

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