Legal Investigation: Is Shutterstock Sharing Users’ Private Data with Facebook?

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org are gathering Shutterstock accountholders in California, Pennsylvania and Florida to take action against the company over potential privacy violations.

It’s believed that Shutterstock may have used a tracking tool called the Meta pixel on its website to secretly gather information about users’ activities – including purchases they make, projects they’re working on and any content they view on the site – and pass along the data to Meta without each person’s consent.

Attorneys suspect that Shutterstock may have violated California, Pennsylvania and Florida privacy laws by sharing consumers’ online communications without permission.

How Could Shutterstock Be Sharing Data with Facebook?

Many website operators gather data about the people who visit their websites by using an invisible tracking tool called the Meta (formerly known as Facebook) pixel.

The pixel, which can be embedded on any webpage, can be programmed to record every action a visitor takes, such as the buttons they click, the searches they perform and the content they view. In general, the data collected by a website through the Meta pixel can be used by both the website operator and the social media giant to better target advertisements to their users.

In the case of Shutterstock.com, attorneys suspect that the pixel may be collecting information about accountholders’ private communications and activities – including the purchases they’ve made, the projects they’re working on and any pictures and videos they view – and sending that information to Meta along with each person’s Facebook ID. A Facebook ID is a unique identifier linked to an individual’s Facebook profile and could potentially be used to match up a specific person with their online activity.

It’s believed that Shutterstock’s suspected data sharing practices may violate California, Pennsylvania and Florida privacy laws that prohibit the disclosure of consumers’ online communications without their consent.

Is This a Lawsuit? What Am I Signing Up For, Exactly?

You are not signing up for a lawsuit, but rather a process known as mass arbitration. This is a relatively new legal technique that, like a class action lawsuit, allows a large group of people to take action and seek compensation from a company over an alleged wrongdoing. Here is a quick explanation of mass arbitration from our blog:

“[M]ass arbitration occurs when hundreds or thousands of consumers file individual arbitration claims against the same company over the same issue at the same time. The aim of a mass arbitration proceeding is to grant relief on a large scale (similar to a class action lawsuit) for those who sign up.”

Shutterstock’s terms of service contain both a class action waiver and an arbitration clause requiring users to resolve any disputes through arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution that takes place outside of court before a neutral arbitrator instead of a judge or jury. It’s for this reason that attorneys working with ClassAction.org have decided to handle this matter as a mass arbitration rather than a class action lawsuit.

How Much Does This Cost?

It costs nothing to sign up, and you’ll only need to pay if the attorneys win money on your behalf. Their payment will come as a percentage of your award.

If they don’t win your claim, you don’t pay.

How Much Money Could I Get?

There are no guarantees as to how much money you could get or whether your claim will be successful. However, privacy laws in California, Pennsylvania and Florida provide that consumers may be owed from $1,000 to $5,000 for violations.

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