Office Depot Facing Class Action Lawsuit Over Alleged Spyware in Marketing Emails

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges Office Depot has surreptitiously integrated into marketing emails tracking technology that captures recipients’ personal information without their knowledge.

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According to the 18-page privacy lawsuit, the office supplies retailer has embedded into its emails hidden web-tracking tools known as spy pixels, which quietly collect data about consumers as soon as they open the message. The suit claims the company has breached an Arizona privacy law by tracking residents’ email records without first acquiring their permission.

Per the case, Office Depot captures consumer information through its own trackers as well as through spy pixels provided by a third-party data analytics vendor and embedded within email images.

As the complaint tells it, when a consumer opens an Office Depot marketing email, the trackers automatically intercept data about the recipient’s device, their IP address, when and where they opened the message, how long they spent reading it, whether it was forwarded, and other personal information.

The plaintiff, an Arizona resident, says she has frequently opened the company’s emails in the past year. The filing contends that by doing so, the woman had confidential data collected by the tracking tools at issue without her knowledge or authorization, in violation of state law.

The Office Depot lawsuit charges that the retailer’s “invasive surveillance” of consumers’ sensitive email records is a breach of Arizona residents’ protected privacy rights.

The retail lawsuit looks to represent anyone in Arizona who has opened a marketing email containing a tracking pixel from Office Depot.

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