Equifax Hit with Class Action for Allegedly Disclosing Subscriber Data to Facebook
Guider-Shaw v. Equifax, Inc.
Filed: October 18, 2022 ◆§ 1:22-cv-05733
A proposed class action claims Equifax has sent the identities and video viewing history of hundreds of thousands of digital subscribers to Facebook without consent.
A proposed class action claims Equifax has sent the identities and video viewing history of hundreds of thousands of digital subscribers to Facebook without consent.
According to the 20-page case, the credit reporting agency secretly discloses subscribers' viewing histories and personal information to Facebook as they view the educational financial advice videos offered on Equifax.com and its corresponding app. The suit alleges Equifax has violated the federal Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) by failing to obtain consumers' express written consent before making disclosures about their identities and specific video materials to a third party.
The complaint says that the data shared without Facebook includes the title of each video viewed by a subscriber, the corresponding URL and the individual’s Facebook ID (FID), all of which get sent to Facebook in a single transmission. An FID uniquely identifies a user's Facebook profile, where the social media giant could access 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.
Per the filing, Equifax has installed on its web pages a piece of code known as the "Facebook tracking pixel" to track users' interactions with the site and transmit their sensitive data to Facebook.
Even though Equifax's privacy statement reveals that it collects and discloses subscribers' viewing history to third parties, this admission does not count as express written consent under the VPPA, the case asserts. The suit relays that the legislation requires companies to obtain permission in a "distinct and separate" form.
The complaint contends that this data-sharing practice lines Equifax's and Facebook's pockets as the former profits off the advertising and information services that the Facebook pixel provides the latter, the filing alleges.
"Facebook benefits from websites like Equifax installing its Pixel. When the Pixel is installed on a business's website, the business has a greater incentive to advertise through Facebook or other Meta-owned platforms, like Instagram. In addition, even if the business does not advertise with Facebook, the Pixel assists Facebook in building more fulsome profiles of its own users, which in turn allows Facebook to profit from providing more targeted ads."
The lawsuit looks to cover anyone in the United States with a digital subscription to an online website owned and/or operated by Equifax and who had their personal viewing information disclosed to Facebook by the credit reporting agency.
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