IGN Facing VPPA Class Action Lawsuit Over Alleged Disclosure of Video Viewing Data

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges IGN Entertainment has secretly disclosed the titles and URLs of videos watched by IGN.com visitors in violation of a federal privacy law.

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The 24-page lawsuit claims IGN has violated the federal Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) by disclosing to unrelated third parties, including paywalls, analytics and monetization company Piano.io, the specifics of which videos users watch on the pop culture website, in addition to their email addresses and user IDs.

According to the complaint, IGN.com is a “video tape service provider” under the VPPA, as the website, boasting a reported 229 million monthly users, features pre-recorded video content and engages in the business of “rental, sale, or delivery of prerecorded video cassette tapes or similar audio visual materials” to consumers.

Per the case, the plaintiff’s counsel earlier this year retained a private research company to conduct a dynamic analysis of IGN.com. The analysis, which recorded the transmissions that occur from a user’s device, established that IGN has integrated at least one application programming interface (API) into its site, namely the Piano.io API, to function as an intermediary that processes data transfers between systems, the filing states.

In particular, the dynamic analysis found that, when a user creates an account on IGN.com and watches pre-recorded videos on the site, IGN transmits at least the video name and URL and the user’s email address and user ID to third-party Piano, the case claims, noting that the services provided by Piano allow companies to “analyze Website user data and provide targeted advertisements.”

“Based on the above, it is abundantly clear that Defendant intentionally and knowingly discloses to Piano through the Piano API its users’ personally identifiable information and video-viewing information,” the lawsuit alleges.

The IGN lawsuit looks to cover all persons in the United States who created an account on IGN.com, watched a pre-recorded video on the website while signed into their account, and had their personal information transmitted to a third party.

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