Columbia, Warby Parker, Tiffany & Co. Secretly Track Website Visitors’ Communications via Chatbot, Lawsuits Claim

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A California consumer has filed proposed class action lawsuits against Columbia Sportswear, Warby Parker and Tiffany & Co. over allegations that the retailers have unlawfully tracked consumers’ activities on their respective websites.

According to the similarly worded seven-page lawsuits, the retailers have violated a California privacy law by essentially “wiretapping” consumers’ electronic communications on Columbia.com, WarbyParker.com and Tiffany.com. The cases claim that secret “keystroke monitoring” software and chatbots employed by the defendants have allowed the companies to record “every aspect of a visitor’s interaction” with the websites, including keystrokes, mouse clicks, data entry and conversations with the chatbot feature.

The lawsuits allege the defendants have failed to inform consumers and obtain consent prior to intercepting their online communications.

“Plaintiff and Class Members did not know at the time of the communications that Defendant was secretly intercepting, monitoring, recording, and sharing the electronic communications,” each complaint states, claiming the retailers have run afoul of the California Invasion of Privacy Act.

The plaintiff in all three cases is an Orange County, California resident who says she was unaware that outdoorwear giant Columbia; Warby Parker, an eyeglasses retailer; and luxury brand Tiffany used keystroke monitoring software on their respective websites to record visitors’ interactions. Moreover, the woman claims to have communicated with the chatbot on each of the defendants’ websites, believing she was conversing with a human customer service representative.

“In reality,” the complaints state, “Defendant’s Website utilizes a sophisticated ‘chatbot’ that convincingly impersonates an actual human that encourages consumers to share personal information.”

The defendants recorded and stored the plaintiff’s conversations with the chatbot without her knowledge or consent, the cases say.

“Defendant’s actions amount to the digital equivalent of both looking over a consumer’s shoulder and eavesdropping on a consumer’s conversation,” the suits state.

The lawsuits further allege that the defendants’ “replay” and chatbot technology are licensed from third parties with whom the companies “routinely share[]” the contents of wiretapped communications without permission from consumers.

The cases look to cover California residents who, within the past year, visited Columbia.com, WarbyParker.com or Tiffany.com and whose electronic communications were caused to be intercepted, recorded or monitored by one of the defendants without prior consent.

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