Bleacher Report Discloses User Data to Facebook Without Consent, Class Action Alleges [UPDATE]

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A proposed class action alleges Bleacher Report has violated a federal privacy law by sharing subscribers’ identities and video viewing history with Facebook without consent.

The 19-page lawsuit claims defendant Turner Broadcasting System, who owns BleacherReport.com, sends user data collected on the website or app, including personally identifiable information and video viewing history, to Meta Platforms (Facebook) in violation of the federal Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA). Per the case, the VPPA prohibits “video tape service providers” from disclosing personal information, including the videos a consumer has requested or watched, to third parties without express written consent.

According to the case, Bleacher Report shares user information with Facebook through a “Facebook pixel” installed on its webpage and mobile app. This “snippet of programming code” secretly tracks and transmits information as visitors interact with the site, the filing asserts.

When a user clicks on and watches a video on BleacherReport.com, the sports content site sends the individual’s Facebook ID (FID) and video viewing history to Facebook, the lawsuit alleges. An FID uniquely identifies a user’s Facebook profile, which “generally contains a wide range of demographic and other information about the user, including pictures, personal interest, work history, relationship status, and other details,” the suit states.

Bleacher Report’s privacy policy reveals that it uses pixels, cookies, and software development kits to collect information about its subscribers that may be shared with third-party partners, the complaint relays. Despite this disclosure, the case argues, Bleacher Report’s data-sharing practice is unlawful because subscribers are not provided with a “distinct and separate” consent form, as required by the VPPA.

Further, Bleacher Report profits off the advertising and information services that the Facebook pixel provides, and, likewise, Facebook benefits because businesses that use the pixel are more incentivized to advertise through Meta-owned platforms, the filing says.

The lawsuit looks to cover anyone in the United States with a digital subscription to an online website owned and/or operated by Turner Broadcasting System and who had their personal viewing information disclosed to Facebook by the company.

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