SeatGeek faces class action lawsuit for sharing TikTok and Meta data

from communications without a court order. Torres and the proposed class are seeking statutory damages, injunctive relief, and attorneys’ fees.

Through the installed tracking technology, SeatGeek was able to gather data from website visitors, allowing them to de-anonymize these individuals for targeted advertising purposes. This means that even users without accounts on platforms like TikTok or Meta could be identified through their personal information collected by SeatGeek. The lawsuit draws a comparison between this tracking process and digital fingerprinting, which matches anonymous visitors with their profiles on these social media platforms.

The lawsuit alleges that SeatGeek’s tracking practices have a more significant impact on California residents due to the company’s marketing efforts in cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego, as well as the explicit California-specific language used in its user terms of service.

Established in 2009 and headquartered in New York, SeatGeek is a prominent player in the secondary ticketing marketplace in the United States. Despite the allegations, the company has not issued a public response regarding the lawsuit. TicketNews has contacted SeatGeek for a statement.

If the class action is approved, it would encompass all California residents whose personal information was shared with Meta or TikTok after visiting SeatGeek’s website during the relevant time frame. Californian Jose Torres filed the complaint against SeatGeek, claiming that the company violated privacy laws by utilizing tracking technology to share user data with third parties without obtaining consent.

The lawsuit alleges that SeatGeek embedded tracking pixels from Meta and TikTok on its platform, allowing the collection of sensitive details including email addresses, IP addresses, and browsing data from visitors to the site. It is claimed in the complaint that the gathered information was then shared with these social media companies without appropriate disclosure or the necessary legal permissions.

This alleged conduct is deemed to be in violation of California’s “trap and trace” law, a component of the California Invasion of Privacy Act, which bars the use of technology to acquire identifying information without a court-issued order. Torres and other affected users are seeking damages under this law, as well as injunctive relief and legal fees.

The lawsuit highlights that despite users not having accounts on platforms like TikTok or Meta, SeatGeek’s tracking technology could identify them and assign their data for advertising targeting. This technology, in the lawsuit’s view, resembles a digital fingerprinting process that matches faceless users with their profiles on social media platforms.

Furthermore, the complaint contends that SeatGeek’s tracking practices have a more pronounced effect on California residents due to the company’s active marketing in cities within the state and the presence of California-specific provisions in its user agreements.

Founded in New York over a decade ago, SeatGeek has grown to become a major entity in the secondary ticketing realm in the U.S. Despite the legal action taken against them, the company has not responded publicly to the accusations. Requests have been made to SeatGeek for input on the situation.

In the event of the lawsuit’s approval, a class would be formed consisting of all California residents whose identifiable information was disclosed to Meta or TikTok after visiting SeatGeek’s website during the specified time period.