Urban Outfitters Tracks Email Recipients’ Data Without Consent, Class Action Claims [DISMISSED]
Last Updated on August 15, 2024
Hartley v. Urban Outfitters, Inc.
Filed: December 12, 2023 ◆§ 2:23-cv-04891
A proposed class action alleges Urban Outfitters secretly and unlawfully embeds tracking technology into its marketing emails.
Pennsylvania
August 15, 2024 – Plaintiff Drops Urban Outfitters Lawsuit Over Alleged Email Data Tracking
The proposed class action lawsuit detailed on this page was voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff on July 31, 2024.
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According to court records, the voluntary dismissal came in the wake of a July 17 order in which United States District Judge Cynthia M. Rufe granted Urban Outfitters’ February 16 motion to dismiss the case.
In a 14-page memo opinion filed with the order, the judge contended that the plaintiff failed to adequately allege that she suffered concrete harm in connection with Urban Outfitters’ alleged data collection practices.
“[The plaintiff] fails to sufficiently allege how she was harmed by [Urban Outfitters] gleaning the type of device, operating system, or email viewing platform she used to read [the retailer’s] emails, and in any event, such details are not comparable to those traditionally contemplated as giving rise to a reasonable privacy interest,” the judge wrote.
In addition, Judge Rufe went on to say that digital records reflecting the dates and times at which the consumer opened the emails, and the length of time she spent reading them, are not data personal enough to justify a claim of concrete injury.
“Like a users’ [sic] keystrokes and mouse clicks upon voluntarily visiting a retailers’ [sic] website, these details are entitled to less privacy protection by virtue of [the plaintiff’s] decision to opt into receiving and reading the emails,” the judge said.
Per the order, the plaintiff was given leave to submit an amended complaint, but court records indicate that the woman dismissed her claims without prejudice days later, on July 31.
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A proposed class action alleges Urban Outfitters secretly and unlawfully embeds tracking technology into its marketing emails.
Want to stay in the loop on class actions that matter to you? Sign up for ClassAction.org’s free weekly newsletter here.
According to the 17-page case, the clothing retailer’s promotional emails contain an invisible piece of code known as a “spy pixel,” which it uses to collect data about how recipients engage with their messages for marketing purposes.
The lawsuit claims that in violation of Arizona’s Telephone, Utility and Communication Service Records Act, Urban Outfitters has procured private email records from residents subscribed to its email list without their knowledge or consent.
The suit contends that the defendant uses Inbox Monster, an email tracking system, to learn when and for how long consumers open its emails. Inbox Monster’s spy pixel also allows Urban Outfitters to determine which email platform the recipient uses, their operating system and the country they’re located in, the complaint says.
Per the case, Urban Outfitters also uses a spy pixel offered by Salesforce, which tracks certain engagement data like when and where consumers open its emails. In addition, the complaint states that the retailer collects recipients’ associated email addresses, email client types, email path data, IP addresses and device information.
The plaintiff, an Arizona resident who frequently looked at Urban Outfitters’ promotional emails over the past two years, says the company never obtained her permission to track when she read its messages or collect identifying information about her. Like other Urban Outfitters email recipients, the plaintiff had her privacy rights violated by the company when it secretly spied on her private email records, the filing contends.
The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in Arizona who has opened a marketing email from Urban Outfitters.
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