Google Collects H&R Block, TaxAct, TaxSlayer User Data Without Consent, Class Action Says

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Google faces a proposed class action over its alleged use of tracking tools on major online tax filing websites, including those offered by H&R Block, TaxAct and TaxSlayer, to secretly collect consumers’ private financial information.

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The 27-page lawsuit claims Google has invaded the privacy rights of tens of millions of Americans by using its Google Analytics pixel—an “invisible 1x1 web bug” website owners can embed into their webpages—to track users’ activities on HRBlock.com, TaxAct.com and TaxSlayer.com without consent. By doing so, Google has gathered “massive amounts” of data belonging to individuals who use these sites to file their taxes, including their income, refund amounts, filing status, scholarship information, email addresses and year of return, the case alleges.

According to the filing, the pixel tracks “a large range of user data” as visitors interact with a website, such as which buttons or ads they click, when they scroll to the bottom of the page or when they submit a query in the search bar. This information is transmitted to Google in real time and used to power its algorithms and enhance its targeted advertising capabilities, the complaint contends.

The suit says that website owners like H&R Block, TaxAct and TaxSlayer, who can use Google’s tracking technologies for free, use this data to better understand “their users’ behaviors and shopping patterns, measure the performance of ad campaigns, and build an audience-base for future ad targeting.”

Although Google claims that information collected through its tracking software cannot be linked to specific users, a Stanford and Princeton study found that the tools can “successfully carry out de-anonymization” by leveraging an individual’s web browsing history, the case relays.

“Further, Google company officials have admitted that if a Google Analytics customer so desired, they would be able to configure their settings to track sensitive taxpayer information such as adjusted gross income, and Google’s systems would not filter this information or even alert anyone,” the lawsuit says.

Per the filing, Google’s use of tracking tools to intentionally “wiretap” consumers’ online communications with H&R Block, TaxAct and TaxSlayer violates state and federal privacy laws. The case also notes that “aiding and abetting” the disclosure of tax return information without consent is a crime, as is the inspection of unlawfully obtained tax return information.

The lawsuit looks to cover anyone in the United States who used online tax preparation providers such as H&R Block, TaxAct or TaxSlayer while those websites had the Google pixel installed on them.

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