WTOP hit with consumer digital privacy lawsuit

Hubbard Radio is the target of a consumer digital privacy lawsuit for allegedly sharing sensitive information with Facebook about digital subscribers to the website of WTOP-FM Washington, D.C., reports Inside Radio.  Filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland, the suit claims the company violated the federal Video Privacy Protections Act. It seeks class action status on behalf of “hundreds of thousands of other WTOP News digital subscribers.”

The suit was filed by Toni Duplantis, who lives in Houma, Louisiana, and says she has been a WTOP News digital subscriber for one year and has had a Facebook account since at least 2006.

According to the complaint, reports Inside Radio, “WTOP knowingly discloses its subscribers’ personally identifiable info to Facebook, including a record of every video clip they view, without first getting their consent in the form of a standalone consent form that complies with the VPAA’s statutory requirements.

“The law dates back to 1988 and was intended to protect the privacy of individuals’ and their families’ video rental, purchase and viewing data.”

While the videos WTOP streams are of a news and entertainment nature, the suit argues that “Hubbard is a video tape service provider.”

It alleges that Hubbard used cookies, SDKs, pixels and Facebook’s Business Tools “to purposely track, record, collect, and transmit its digital subscribers’ interactions with WTOP News.” From there, according to the suit, Hubbard sent its digital subscribers’ viewing history and personally identifiable information to its third-party business partners, including Facebook.

More here.

PHOTO: WTOP