MLB.com Shared Subscribers’ Video-Viewing Info with Facebook Without Consent, Class Action Alleges [DISMISSED]

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Major League Baseball’s media arm faces a proposed class action that alleges it has illegally disclosed certain personal information of MLB.com subscribers to Meta Platforms (Facebook).

Learn more about this investigation here.

The 19-page complaint alleges Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. has violated the federal Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) by knowingly disclosing to Facebook MLB.com visitors’ Facebook ID and details on videos viewed and their corresponding URLs. The case stresses that MLB.com is “not sharing anonymized, non-personally identifiable data with Facebook,” but rather information that can lead directly back to a particular user. 

The VPPA prohibits “video tape service providers” such as MLB.com from knowingly disclosing consumers’ information, in particular that which “identifies a person as having requested or obtained specific video materials or services from a video tape provider,” the filing says, alleging the website “chose to disregard Plaintiff’s and hundreds of thousands of other MLB.com subscribers’ statutorily protected privacy rights.” 

According to the complaint, MLB.com collects and shares users’ information by way of a Facebook pixel, a snippet of programming code that, once installed on a webpage or mobile app, tracks a person’s activity and sends it to Facebook. In this case, the suit says, the information MLB.com collects through the Facebook pixel includes the title of a video watched by a subscriber and, importantly, their Facebook ID. This identifier is linked to a person’s Facebook profile, which generally contains an array of demographic and other identifying information, including pictures, personal interests, work history, relationship status, and more, the case states. 

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The Facebook pixel is invisible, running in the background of advertisers’ webpages and apps to track users’ activities and report them back to Facebook, the filing says. The case relays that Facebook benefits from MLB.com’s use of its pixel because the company, like other advertisers who use the snippet of code, has a greater incentive to advertise through Facebook or other Meta-owned platforms. Conversely, the Facebook pixel allows MLB.com to improve its ability to promote its own content and services to subscribers, the complaint adds. 

MLB.com apparently discloses users’ information to Facebook “together in a single transmission,” and does so even when a subscriber has not shared or consented to share any such details. Because a subscriber’s Facebook ID can uniquely identify their Facebook account, the social media platform, or any other ordinary person, for that matter, can use it to quickly and easily locate and view their Facebook profile, the case relays. 

“MLB.com subscribers do not consent to the dissemination of their viewed Video Media to a third party through a standalone consent form, as required by the VPPA,” the lawsuit asserts. “As a result, MLB.com violates the VPPA by disclosing this information to Facebook.” 

In order to participate in the community features and use other MLB.com offerings, a user must register for an account with the website, which includes providing information such as their email address and date of birth, the suit says. The case relays that all MLB.com subscribers provide the site with their IP address, the unique number assigned to all internet-connected devices, which informs Major League Baseball Advanced Media of a person’s city, zip code and physical location.

Through the process of opening an MLB.com account or signing up for the website’s newsletter, the defendant does not disclose that subscribers’ personal viewing information will be disclosed to third parties, such as Facebook, and does not obtain proper written consent, the complaint claims. 

The lawsuit looks to cover all persons in the United States with a digital subscription to a website or newsletter owned and/or operated by Major League Baseball Advanced Media and who had their personal viewing information disclosed to Facebook by the company.

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