$1.1M Settlement Resolves Philadelphia Inquirer Lawsuit Over Alleged Privacy Violations

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The Philadelphia Inquirer has agreed to pay a more than $1.1 million settlement to resolve a consolidated class action lawsuit that alleged the newspaper captured and disclosed to Facebook the personal information of Inquirer.com subscribers without permission.

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The official website for the Philadelphia Inquirer settlement can be found at InquirerClassActionSettlement.com.

The class action settlement, which was granted preliminary approval by the court in early August 2024, covers anyone who had a digital subscription with the Philadelphia Inquirer at any time between October 1, 2019 and January 16, 2024 and used Facebook during that time—a class of approximately 180,000 people, the website says.

To receive a share of the $1,125,000 settlement fund, eligible class members must file a valid claim online or by mail by October 27, 2024.

To file a Philadelphia Inquirer claim form online, head to this page. Alternatively, to submit a claim by mail, you can download the PDF claim form, contact the settlement administrator to request a paper copy, or complete the claim form that was included in the personalized notice you may have received in the mail.

The website adds that, in order to file a claim, class members will need the unique Notice ID and Confirmation Code found on their settlement notice.

Per the site, eligible class members who submit a valid claim by the deadline may be entitled to receive a pro-rated cash payment, the value of which will ultimately depend on the number of valid claims that are filed.

Philadelphia Inquirer settlement payouts will be issued only if the deal is granted final approval by the court, which will make its decision during a hearing scheduled for March 26, 2025 in Philadelphia. The settlement site states that the final approval process may take time as there may be appeals that must be resolved before payouts are distributed to class members.

The class action lawsuit against the Philadelphia Inquirer alleged that the daily newspaper knowingly collected and shared subscribers’ personal data via the Meta pixel, a tracking tool embedded into Inquirer.com.

According to the class action suit, the defendant transmitted website and app users’ Facebook IDs—a unique identifier linked to each individual’s social media account—alongside the title and URL of any videos they watched on the platform. The case claimed that at no point did the company request or obtain consumer consent before sharing their information with Facebook, in violation of the federal Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) and the Pennsylvania Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act.

The Philadelphia Inquirer settlement website shares that in addition to paying more than $1.1 million, the defendant has agreed to suspend its use of the Meta pixel on any pages on its website or app that feature video content. As the site tells it, the company will abide by this practice unless and until it obtains proper user consent or the VPPA is amended, repealed or otherwise invalidated.

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