Etsy accused of pixel tracking privacy violations in class action lawsuit

A proposed class action lawsuit has been brought against Etsy, accusing the company of allowing third parties to gather personal data from users using pixel trackers. The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California on July 3, alleges that Etsy violated the California Invasion of Privacy Act and other state laws by employing pixel trackers from third-party companies like Google, Meta, and Microsoft.

According to the lawsuit, these pixel trackers collect a wide range of user information, including IP addresses, browser and device type, screen resolution, operating system, pages visited, session duration, scroll depth, touch movements, tap behavior, referring URLs, unique identifiers like cookies and ad IDs, and geolocation based on IP. This information is then used for behavioral profiling, ad targeting, cross-device tracking, and participation in real-time advertising auctions. The trackers are capable of capturing and transmitting users’ IP addresses, full page URLs, referrer headers, device identifiers, and other non-content metadata, effectively functioning as “pen registers” and “trap and trace devices.”

The plaintiff, Austin White, along with other potential class members, asserts that they did not provide consent for the installation or operation of these trackers and did not anticipate their behavioral data being disclosed or monetized in this manner. White argues that these pixel trackers violate the California Invasion of Privacy Act, which prohibits the use of trap-and-trace devices without proper consent or a court order. The lawsuit seeks to include all individuals in California whose browsers were impacted by the trackers on Etsy’s website, and seeks statutory damages, an injunction against the alleged conduct, and reimbursement for attorneys’ fees and costs.

Several law firms are currently investigating similar potential claims against eBay, although formal lawsuits have not yet been filed. Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP is actively seeking to represent eBay users whose privacy may have been compromised by the utilization of third-party trackers on the platform.

In light of these legal actions, it is crucial for companies to consider the implications of utilizing third-party trackers and the potential privacy concerns they may raise. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, safeguarding user data and privacy rights must remain a top priority for businesses operating online. The outcome of these lawsuits against Etsy and eBay could have significant implications for how other e-commerce platforms handle user data in the future.