in Newswire Published on October 1, 2021

Class Action Claims ZoomInfo Misappropriates Calif. Residents’ Personal Info to Sell Subscriptions

Martinez v. ZoomInfo Technologies Inc.

Filed: September 30, 2021 ◆§ 3:21-cv-05725

ZoomInfo faces a proposed class action over its alleged practice of using California consumers’ private information to advertise subscriptions to ZoomInfo.com.

Defendant(s)

ZoomInfo Technologies Inc.

Law(s)

California Right of Publicity

State(s)

Washington

Categories

Privacy

ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. faces a proposed class action over its alleged practice of using California consumers’ private information to advertise subscriptions to ZoomInfo.com.

According to the 20-page lawsuit, ZoomInfo misappropriates consumers’ names, contact information, job titles, work histories and other personal details in “teaser profiles” on ZoomInfo.com to promote the sale of subscriptions that purportedly allow for “Full Access” to the personal information of the “millions of individuals” in ZoomInfo’s database.

The case alleges the defendant has violated the California Right of Publicity Act, a state law that forbids the use of residents' private information for commercial purposes without their consent. Per the suit, many individuals whose private information has been used in advertisements on ZoomInfo.com never consented to have their data used for promotional purposes:

“Plaintiff and the Class have the right not to have their names and personal information exploited to promote a product with which they have no relationship and no interest in supporting. Plaintiffs and the Class have an economic interest in their names and personal information, which ZoomInfo has stolen, and a privacy interest in their names and personal information, which ZoomInfo has violated.”

The plaintiff, a California citizen, says that although she has never visited, subscribed to or used ZoomInfo.com, the website has displayed her name, phone number, place of work, job title and job description, the organization chart of her workplace, and the names and contact information of her colleagues in a partially redacted “teaser profile.” In close proximity to the plaintiff’s information are “buttons encouraging the user to subscribe to ZoomInfo” in order to get “Full Access” to the personal information of “125 million business professionals” and other services, the suit alleges. According to the case, subscriptions to ZoomInfo.com cost upward of $10,000 per year.

The lawsuit goes on to claim that ZoomInfo also uses the plaintiff’s information to advertise subscriptions to the Community Edition version of the website, which provides access to the full profiles of millions of individuals and requires users to download an application that tracks their business contacts.

Per the case, ZoomInfo’s “sole purpose” in using the plaintiff’s information is to advertise subscriptions to its services. The plaintiff says she never consented to the defendant’s use of her personal information “in any way” and would not have done so had she been asked permission. According to the complaint, the woman was “seriously distressed” upon discovering that her information was being used for commercial purposes without her consent.

“ZoomInfo’s illegal actions caused [the plaintiff] mental injury and disturbed her peace of mind. [The plaintiff] is deeply uncomfortable in the knowledge that ZoomInfo is using her name and persona in advertisements for a product with which she has no relationship and which she has no desire to promote. [The plaintiff] believes her name and persona is rightly hers to control. ZoomInfo’s illegal use has left her worried and uncertain about her inability to control how her name and persona is used. [The plaintiff] feels that ZoomInfo’s use of her name and persona is an alarming invasion of her privacy.”

The lawsuit looks to represent California residents who are not ZoomInfo subscribers and whose names and personal information was used by the defendant in teaser profiles to promote its products.

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