HBO Accused Of Sharing Subscriber Data With Facebook In Class Action Lawsuit

HBO streaming services have taken the world by storm with hit shows like Euphoria, Peacemaker and many more. Watching TV shows is for entertainment and catharsis but in the digital age more things can happen while you’re binging. A class-action lawsuit was filed against HBO alleging that it shares subscribers’ info with Facebook (meta).

On Tuesday, a class-action lawsuit was filed against HBO alleging that it shares subscribers’ viewing history with Facebook in violation of federal privacy laws. In the last few years several streaming providers have been hit with similar claims under the VPPA. The list includes the AMC Networks, Hulu and ESPN.

A judge ruled in favor of Hulu 2015. However, The issue remains contested. The lawsuit alleges that HBO is aware that Facebook can combine such data because it is a major advertiser on the site. Unsurprisingly, it uses that information to retarget its own subscribers’ ads.

Bursor & Fisher filed suit on behalf of two HBO Max subscribers in New York. The law firm claims that Facebook has access to customer information because it has been allowed to monitor viewing habits through the purchase lists supplied by HBO.

The VPPA requires subscribers to provide separate consent for sharing their video viewing history. However, HBO Max’s privacy policy only discloses that it and its partners use cookies to deliver personalized ads. The lawsuit says that this kind of standard privacy policy will not be enough. They will have to do more to their viewers aware of what happens behind their screens.

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