Condé Nast (The New Yorker, Wired) Class Action: Websites Accused of Illegal Data Collection

Case Overview: A class action lawsuit has been filed against Condé Nast, alleging that the company's websites, including The New Yorker and Wired, collect user data without consent.

Consumers Affected: Individuals who visited The New Yorker or Wired websites.

Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

Condé Nast, the media conglomerate that owns publications like The New Yorker and Wired, is facing a class action lawsuit alleging that the company secretly collects website visitors' data without their consent.

Filed by Aaron Deivaprakash in a California federal court, the lawsuit claims that The New Yorker and Wired websites use tracking technology to gather users' IP addresses and transmit them to third-party advertising companies.

Deivaprakash alleges that when users visit NewYorker.com or Wired.com, at least three trackers are installed on their browsers without their knowledge or permission. These trackers then send personal information, including the user's IP address, to Google, Audiencerate, and Neustar.

The lawsuit argues that these third-party companies use the collected IP addresses to determine the geographical location of website visitors and develop targeted marketing strategies. 

“[T]he trackers are designed to analyze website data and marketing campaigns, conduct targeted advertising, and boost [Condé Nast’s] revenue, all through their surreptitious collection of [the plaintiff’s] and class members’ data,” the class action lawsuit argues.

This practice, the lawsuit asserts, violates the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), which prohibits the use of "pen registers" – devices or processes that record outgoing communication information – without obtaining prior consent and a court order.

Lawsuit Claims Condé Nast Websites Use Trackers That Violate California Privacy Law

The lawsuit contends that the trackers used by The New Yorker and Wired websites function as "pen registers" because they capture and transmit users' IP addresses, which can be considered outgoing communication information. CIPA was enacted to protect the privacy of Californians by prohibiting the unauthorized use of such devices.

“For example, if a user sends an email, a ‘pen register’ might record the email address it was sent from, the email address the email was sent to, and the subject line—because this is the user’s outgoing information,” the filing reads.

According to the lawsuit, Condé Nast did not obtain consent from users or a court order before using these trackers to collect IP addresses. This alleged violation of CIPA forms the basis of the class action lawsuit.

Condé Nast Allegedly Uses Trackers to Improve Advertising and Generate Revenue

The lawsuit claims that the trackers serve several purposes for Condé Nast. They gather data on user behavior, such as the pages visited and the duration of time spent on the site, to provide insights into how users interact with the websites. This information can be used to improve website design and content, tailoring it to user preferences.

Additionally, by tracking users' IP addresses and inferring their location, Condé Nast can deliver personalized advertisements to users based on their geographical context. This allows for more relevant and potentially effective advertising, increasing the likelihood of user engagement.

Ultimately, the lawsuit alleges that the primary motivation behind using these trackers is to increase Condé Nast's revenue. By improving the effectiveness of its advertising and marketing efforts through targeted advertising, the company aims to achieve higher click-through rates and conversions, thus generating more revenue.

Other Companies Face Lawsuits Over Alleged Privacy Violations

Condé Nast is not alone in facing legal challenges over alleged privacy violations. In April 2024, the LA Times was hit with a class action lawsuit claiming that it uses trackers on its website to collect users' IP addresses without their consent. The lawsuit alleges that the LA Times uses this information to develop marketing strategies and targeted ads for profit.

In February 2024, The Home Depot faced a class action lawsuit alleging that it violated customer privacy by implementing Google's Cloud Contact Center AI (CCAI). The lawsuit claimed that this technology allowed Google to listen in on, record, and analyze customer calls without their consent.

In the Condé Nast lawsuit,  Deivaprakash is seeking to represent any California residents who accessed the NewYorker.com and Wired.com in the state and had their IP address collected by the websites’ trackers. He is suing for statutory damages of $5,000 for each violation of CIPA, along with an order of restitution and equitable monetary relief.

Case Details

• Lawsuit: Deivaprakash v. Condé Nast Digital
• Case Number: 1:24-cv-06503
• Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York 

Plaintiffs' Attorneys

• Yitzchak Koepl, Alec M. Leslie, and Max S. Roberts (Bursor & Fisher, P.A.) 

Have you visited The New Yorker or Wired websites? Are you concerned about your data being collected and shared without your consent? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.