PGA Tour faces class action lawsuit over ‘Bork Bill’

The PGA Tour faced legal trouble recently when David Britt, a resident of Tampa, Florida, initiated a lawsuit against the organization for allegedly sharing his personal viewing data without his consent. This legal action adds the PGA Tour to a long list of sports entities that have been sued for violating the Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988 (VPPA), sometimes referred to as the “Bork Bill,” as it was a response to the disclosure of Judge Robert Bork’s video rental history during his U.S. Supreme Court nomination process.

Britt, represented by Brian Levin and other attorneys, claims that when visitors to PGATour.com access videos, their personal information along with the video’s title is shared with Meta without their knowledge or approval. Britt, who was a subscriber to PGATour.com from 2022 until he filed the lawsuit, states that he provided personal information like his name and email address to become a subscriber. The lawsuit seeks class action status on behalf of all Americans who, between June 13, 2023, and the present, subscribed to PGATour.com and watched prerecorded video content while logged into their Facebook accounts, alleging the use of pixel tracking cookies on the website.

While the VPPA stipulates damages of $2,500 per violation, in a class action suit involving thousands or potentially millions of individuals, the cumulative damages could reach billions of dollars. The PGA Tour is expected to respond to the complaint and attempt to have it dismissed by relying on similar arguments used by other defendants in VPPA cases. Defendants typically claim that the VPPA does not pertain to Facebook cookies and that they are not in direct possession of Facebook data, as it is transmitted through internet browsers. Moreover, they argue that the VPPA prohibits intentional disclosure of consumer information, not inadvertent or reckless sharing.

As legal proceedings unfold, the PGA Tour will defend its actions and dispute the allegations made by David Britt. The outcome of this case could have significant implications not just for the PGA Tour but for all sports entities grappling with data privacy and consumer protection regulations. Legal experts will monitor this case closely to see how it shapes the landscape of data sharing and user privacy rights within the sports industry.