RetailMeNot Class Action Lawsuit: Browser Extension Accused of Stealing Commissions
Anna SmithLast Updated: February 4th, 2025Case Overview: A class action lawsuit claims RetailMeNot's browser extension steals commissions from content creators by manipulating tracking data and diverting affiliate marketing revenue.
Consumers Affected: Content creators who use affiliate marketing programs.
Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Content Creators Claim RetailMeNot Diverted Affiliate Marketing Revenue
RetailMeNot, a popular online coupon platform, has been quietly hijacking the affiliate commissions of social media influencers, bloggers, and content creators, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
The complaint, filed by tech influencers Edgar Oganesyan and Matthew Ely, claims that RetailMeNot’s browser extension manipulates tracking data to reroute commissions to itself—stealing earnings rightfully owed to creators who promote products online.
The lawsuit follows growing scrutiny of browser extensions that promise shoppers savings while allegedly siphoning commissions from the very influencers driving those sales.
RetailMeNot Accused of Stealing Affiliate Commissions from Content Creators
Edgar Oganesyan, who runs the tech-focused YouTube channel TechSource with nearly 4 million subscribers, noticed something was wrong when his affiliate earnings mysteriously dropped despite steady growth in his audience, according to the lawsuit.
For years, Oganesyan said he had partnered with merchants to promote products via unique affiliate links. These links tracked when his viewers made purchases, ensuring he received a commission, but his earnings started declining leading him to suspect an issue with the tracking system. He discovered the alleged scheme in January 2025, after another browser extension, PayPal’s Honey, was exposed for similar practices.
Matthew Ely, co-founder of the popular YouTube channel ToastyBros, had a similar experience, the lawsuit claims. ToastyBros, which specializes in PC hardware reviews and has over 750,000 subscribers, relies on affiliate marketing revenue to fund content creation. According to the lawsuit, RetailMeNot’s browser extension intercepted affiliate tracking codes just before a sale was completed, replacing the creator’s information with its own.
Lawsuit Alleges Browser Extension Manipulates Tracking Data to Divert Commissions
RetailMeNot advertises its browser extension as a tool to help shoppers save money by automatically applying discount codes at checkout. But according to the lawsuit, the extension does more than that—it allegedly alters tracking cookies to credit RetailMeNot with affiliate sales, effectively cutting out the influencers and bloggers who originally drove customers to the merchant’s website.
As a result, RetailMeNot, rather than the content creators who drove the sale, receives the commission.
Other Browser Extensions Face Similar Allegations of Commission Hijacking
RetailMeNot isn’t the first browser extension accused of engaging in this type of commission diversion. In December 2024, YouTuber MegaLag exposed similar tactics allegedly used by PayPal’s Honey extension, sparking widespread backlash and legal action. Honey, like RetailMeNot, was marketed as a money-saving tool for consumers but was later accused of injecting its own tracking information to capture commissions meant for content creators.
The Honey case led to investigations into other coupon extensions, ultimately uncovering the alleged RetailMeNot scheme, the lawsuit explains.
In RetailMeNot affiliate commission class action lawsuit, Oganesyan and Ely want to represent anyone in the US who participated in an affiliate commission program with a US-based eCommerce merchant and had commissions diverted by RetailMeNot.
They are suing for unjust enrichment, violations of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, as well as violations of California business law, conversion, unjust enrichment, and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage. They are seeking injunctive relief, damages, restitution, interest, costs, and fees.
Case Details
- Lawsuit: Oganesyan, et al. v. RetailMeNot, Inc.,
- Case Number: 1:25-cv-00783
- Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Plaintiffs' Attorneys
- Julian Hammond, Polina Brandler, And Ari Cherniak (HammondLaw, P.C.)
Are you a content creator who uses affiliate marketing? Share your thoughts on this lawsuit in the comments below.
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