HBO was slammed with a class-action lawsuit alleging that it shared users’ viewing history with Facebook.
The lawsuit, which was filed on Tuesday in New York on behalf of two HBO Max subscribers, accuses HBO of providing Facebook with customer lists, allowing the network to match viewing habits with their profiles.
The lawsuit filed by Bursor & Fisher also alleged that HBO violated the 1988 Video Privacy Protection Act, which prohibited the disclosure of personally identifiable information through the release of video rental records. HBO reportedly violated this law by providing Facebook with enough information for the social networks to re-target its ads to subscribers.
HBO previously disclosed that it uses cookies to deliver personalized ads. However, that disclosure did not include video history, which the law requires a separate consent request to approve. “A standard privacy policy will not suffice,” the suit said.
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The law firm is seeking unspecified damages.
Video streaming companies such as Netflix and Hulu are not strangers to lawsuits alleging breaches of the Video Privacy Protection Act. A 2015 case ruled in favor of Hulu, arguing that Hulu did not knowingly transmit data to Facebook that the company could use to establish a person’s viewing history.
However, the new technologies and evolving nature of social media have complicated the application of the 34-year-old law, requiring it to adapt. Former President Barack Obama signed an amendment to the law in 2013 that allowed video rental companies to share rental information on social networking platforms after receiving customer permission.
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Representatives from HBO and Bursor & Fisher did not respond to requests for comment from the Washington Examiner.
