Amazon Prime Illegally Shares Subscribers’ Viewing Behaviors with Unauthorized Parties, Class Action Alleges

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges Amazon Prime illegally shares subscribers’ personal information—including which videos they watch—with affiliates and third parties.

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The 34-page case accuses Amazon.com and Amazon Services of violating the federal Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), which prohibits a “video service provider” from disclosing a consumer’s private data without their informed, written consent.

In order to fulfill this requirement, a video service provider must obtain an individual’s consent before it can begin sharing their information, the lawsuit explains. Additionally, a company is required to present any privacy-related disclosures in a manner that’s “distinct and separate” from the rest of its fine print, and provide consumers with a “clear and conspicuous” opportunity to opt out of its data-sharing practices, the filing relays.

However, according to the complaint, Amazon has exposed a “trove” of information about Amazon Prime subscribers without satisfying any VPPA requirements. Per the filing, this data includes the titles of videos a consumer watches, playback start dates and times, playback end dates and times, whether the individual bought or rented the content, their billing address and location information.

The complaint claims that Amazon Services discloses this private data with affiliates such as parent company Amazon Inc., which then uses this information for marketing, advertising and analytics purposes.

“Once consumers are in the Amazon system, [the defendants] amass data profiles for consumers with little regard for protecting their privacy,” the case contends. “Former Amazon chief information security officer Gary Gagnon described Amazon’s internal access policies for customer information as a ‘free-for-all’ among Amazon’s global workforce.”

Consumer data is also shared with market research company Nielsen and other unspecified third parties, the case alleges.

“Any ‘disclosures’ that Amazon Services shares consumers’ [personally identifiable information] related to video usage with third parties are obscure and, importantly, not separate and distinct from the rest of the fine print,” the complaint says. Per the suit, the defendants intentionally scatter “vague” information about the use of consumer data throughout their terms and conditions, requiring consumers to navigate “a maze of misleading hyperlinks.”

What’s more, the defendants make it “impossible” for consumers to opt out of having their data shared with Amazon Services’ affiliates, the filing claims. The case argues that any other opt-out options the companies offer consumers are not provided in a clear and conspicuous manner, as required under the VPPA.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone who has rented, purchased, or streamed audiovisual content from Amazon Prime during the applicable statute of limitations period.

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