This is the next big media lawsuit and raises other questions.
1) Will the real estate agents who purchase the “data” also be charged?
2) Were both companies monitoring consumer conversations (audio, email, texts)?
Sellers use cameras and microphones to spy on open-house hunters.
3) How many “gazillions” of $$ will this result in? (Lots. Lots).
Zillow, Redfin Hit with Video Privacy Lawsuits Over Website User Tracking
Zillow Group and Redfin Corporation each face a proposed class action lawsuit over their alleged use of secret pixels on their respective websites to track users’ video viewing habits and send that data to third-party vendors without valid consent.
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The video privacy lawsuits accuse Zillow and Redfin of violating the federal Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA). These laws protect consumers from having their personal info or communications disclosed without consent.
The Zillow lawsuit states that the company features
video tour walkthroughs of properties listed for sale on Zillow.com.
Then, Zillow (and Redfin in a similar suit) knowingly installed pixels and other tracking tools developed by third-party advertisers, which capture users’ personal info (without consent) regarding specific videos they’ve watched.
The case alleges that both disclosed
this data to the 3rd-party developers.
The lawsuits say the tracking technology on Zillow and Redfin’s websites sends user video activity to third parties such as Reddit, Meta, Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), Oracle, and Snapchat.
“Defendant programmed such third-party tracking technology into its website for advertising purposes and to increase its profits.
Defendant knew that such tracking technology would transmit site visitors’ activity, including records of which video tours they have watched, as the entire purpose of implementing such technology is so that Defendant can target advertisements or send marketing emails through the technology’s third-party providers.”
The lawsuits seek to cover all individuals in the United States with a Zillow or “My Redfin” account who requested or viewed a guided video tour on or through Zillow.com or Redfin.com within the applicable statute of limitations period.
