iStock Illegally Shared Subscribers’ Personal Data with Facebook, Class Action Lawsuit Claims

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A proposed class action accuses iStockphoto of violating federal law by disclosing subscribers’ personal data to Facebook without consent.

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The 24-page privacy lawsuit claims iStock—a subscription service that offers access to a library of stock images and royalty-free video clips—has breached the federal Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), which prohibits “video tape service provider[s]” from knowingly sharing customers’ personal information with third parties without prior written consent.

The suit contends that despite iStock’s clear obligations under the VPPA, the company embedded a tracking tool known as the Meta pixel into iStockphoto.com to capture and transmit subscribers’ data to Facebook for use in targeted marketing.

According to the case, when a subscriber uses the website, the invisible tracker sends Facebook the titles of any videos a user views or downloads, as well as their IP address. Per the complaint, the tracking technology also shares a consumer’s Facebook ID, a unique identifier associated with their social media profile.

Notably, the filing charges that by disclosing a subscriber’s Facebook ID, iStock provides enough information to link an individual’s identity to their video-viewing behavior.

As the suit tells it, the company did not inform consumers about its use of the Meta pixel, nor did it acquire consent from subscribers before sharing their personal data with Facebook.

The lawsuit looks to represent any Facebook users in the United States who either subscribed to iStock or purchased credits and viewed or downloaded prerecorded video content on iStockphoto.com when the Meta pixel was active on the website.

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