Privacy Play: Lawsuit Accuses MLB.tv of Unlawful Subscriber Data Sharing

Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM), the entity behind MLB.tv, is facing a class-action lawsuit alleging that it violated privacy laws by sharing subscribers' personal viewing information with Facebook without the consent of its viewers.

Bryan Henry, stepping up to the plate as the plaintiff, initiated this class action lawsuit, accusing MLBAM of violating the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), a federal law designed to safeguard consumers' viewing preferences from unauthorized disclosure.

Henry claims that MLBAM, through its service MLB.tv, shares details like the Facebook ID and other personally identifiable information related to what subscribers were watching. This data sharing, the lawsuit states, was aimed at enhancing targeted advertising on its website, thereby boosting its advertising revenue illicitly.

The role of Pixel tracking tactics

Henry points to the utilization of Facebook Pixel, a tool used by MLB.tv, to track subscriber activity on its website and app. This technology reportedly allows MLBAM to gather and share information with Facebook, detailing not just who is watching, but what they are watching.

The lawsuit asserts that this tracking activity allegedly allowed MLB.tv to provide targeted advertising content, gaining financially while compromising subscriber privacy.

The cost of privacy

With the lines between entertainment, technology, and privacy increasingly blurred, consumers are calling out digital content providers for how they handle personal information in the era of targeted advertising.

AMC+ recently settled a privacy violations lawsuit for $8.3 million to resolve claims it violated federal privacy laws by tracking users on its website and sharing that information with third parties.

Similarly, a class action lawsuit against Eyemart Express claims that they company employs a tracking tool developed by Meta (formerly Facebook), to gather information about users' activities, including personal health information, on the Eyemart website without their consent.

Henry's lawsuit against MLB.tv is not just about the alleged privacy infringements; it's about seeking justice and remediation for what he and potentially hundreds of thousands of other subscribers see as a flagrant disregard for their statutory privacy rights. The legal action seeks to halt MLBAM's practice of sharing personal viewing data without consent and to secure both declaratory and injunctive relief.

The plaintiff is represented by Andrew J. Shamis of Shamis & Gentile PA and Adam A. Schwartzbaum of Edelsberg Law PA. 

The MLB.tv data privacy class action lawsuit is Henry v. Major League Baseball Advanced Media LP, Case No. 1:24-cv-01446, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.