Lawsuit against Washington Post alleges its digital systems collected private data
A class action lawsuit was filed against The Washington Post alleging its digital systems collected private data through secret surveillance in order to price gouge its most loyal subscribers — and potentially threatening to cost the paper “millions, if not billions, in damages,” according to one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs, reports Mediaite.
The Post has lost hundreds of thousands of subscribers amid major layoffs and other changes at the paper and the 43-page complaint claims the paper deployed deceptive technological means to wring extra money from the ones who stayed.
The complaint, continues Mediaite, filed in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, detailed how the Post “invested substantial resources in its website and other digital assets after Bezos took over in 2013, enjoying “predictable revenue, powered by consistent readership numbers and increased site traffic.
“Subscribers expected their personal data would be used for “mutually beneficial purposes,” the complaint continued, like showing “relevant advertisements,” but the Post soon allegedly began engaging in surveillance without the knowledge or consent of the subscribers.”
