Politico and The Hill Face Lawsuits Over Secret Data Tracking

Case Overview: Class action lawsuits claim Politico and The Hill secretly collected and shared user data without consent, violating privacy laws.

Consumers Affected: California residents who visited Politico or The Hill websites and had their data collected and shared.

Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

Two major political news websites, Politico and The Hill, are facing class action lawsuits for allegedly collecting and sharing user data without consent. 

The lawsuits claim both companies embedded tracking technology on their sites to gather personal information like IP addresses and browser activity. The data was reportedly shared with third-party companies for advertising and analytics purposes—all without notifying or gaining consent from users.

Politico and The Hill Secretly Track User Data, Lawsuits Claim

California resident John Deddeh filed both proposed class action lawsuits saying that he visited The Hill and Politico websites multiple times over the past three years to read news headlines and articles. Deddeh alleges that while he browsed, the websites secretly installed tracking cookies on his devices, gathering personal data and transmitting it to third-party companies.

Deddeh claims he never gave permission for his data to be collected or shared and wasn’t informed of the tracking. He alleges that without the option to opt-out, he and other users had no control over how their data was used. This unauthorized tracking, the lawsuits argue, constitutes a violation of his and other users’ privacy.

Lawsuits Allege Websites Shared User Data Without Consent

The lawsuits claim that both websites embedded trackers capable of capturing user data the moment someone visited their pages. Politico used trackers like TripleLift and Adnx, while The Hill implemented trackers from Media.net and CasaleMedia. These tools installed cookies on users’ browsers without requiring clicks or explicit consent, collecting information such as IP addresses and browsing habits.

The gathered data was allegedly shared with third parties to place ads on other platforms, boosting the companies’ ad revenue and brand visibility. Even if users cleared their cookies, the trackers would reportedly reinstall the next time they visited the websites, restarting the data collection process.

The lawsuits allege Politico and The Hill of profiting from these tracking practices by selling advertising space and analyzing user data, all while bypassing the user’s right to privacy.

Other Media Companies Face Similar Lawsuits Over Data Collection

Politico and The Hill aren’t the only media organizations under scrutiny from readers over alleged data mishaps. Condé Nast, which owns The New Yorker and Wired, is facing a class action lawsuit alleging its websites secretly collect and share user data with third-party advertisers using similar tracking technologies.

Meanwhile, earlier this year the LA Times was hit with a lawsuit accusing the paper of using trackers to harvest user data, including IP addresses, for targeted advertising without users’ knowledge or consent.

Companies from other industries are also under scrutiny for using tracking devices on their websites, including Puma, Paramount, and Home Depot which have faced lawsuits for allegedly using tracking tools to gather consumer data unlawfully.

In his lawsuits, Deddeh wants to represent California residents who accessed and viewed The Hill or Politico websites and had their IP addresses, browser data, or device data collected by and disclosed to the third-party trackers embedded in the sites. He is suing for violations of a range of California laws including the Computer Data Access and Fraud Act, Invasion of Privacy Act, and the right to privacy. He is seeking damages, restitution, fees, costs, and interest.

Case Details

• Lawsuits: Deddeh v. Nexstar Media Inc. and Deddeh v. Politico LLC
• Case Numbers: 3:24-cv-08744-TSH and 3:24-cv-08745
• Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

Plaintiffs' Attorneys

• Isam C. Khoury and Isam C. Khoury (Cohelan Khoury & Singer) 

Do you visit Politico or The Hill? What are your thoughts on these lawsuits? Share your opinion in the comments below.