Consumer Reports, Inc. won dismissal of allegations brought by subscribers who alleged that the product testing organization illegally provides information about them to third parties for profit, according to a recent opinion.
Judge Vincent L. Briccetti ruled that though the plaintiffs met some of the elements of their state misappropriation claims, they did not plausibly allege that their names were publicly used.
Specifically, subscribers in Alabama, California, Hawaii, Indiana, Nevada, Ohio, and Washington alleged that their information, such as which publications they subscribe to and their home address, are aggregated with data from other sources including sex, age, race, and political party. Reportedly, the compiled data is returned to the defendant, in the form of “subscriber lists,” which it sells or licenses to third parties for financial gain.
According to the subscribers, this practice violates their rights to publicity under the seven states’ laws. They seek damages for the misappropriation of their information, as other suits have against companies like PeopleConnect and Ancestry.com, which offer people search services.
Last week’s opinion explained that each of the laws require “a public commercial use of a person’s name or identity for liability.” Critically, the court noted that these subscriber lists were not publicly available and were disclosed only to third parties who paid for them.
The ruling said that the plaintiffs’ reading of the statutes ignores the fact the laws do not protect someone’s name in and of itself. Judge Briccetti concluded that “[c]lassifying this limited, private disclosure only to the third parties who purchase the Subscriber Lists as publicity would transform the Misappropriation Statutes into sweeping data privacy laws.”
The plaintiffs are represented by Bursor & Fisher P.A. and Edelson PC. Consumer Reports is represented by Dentons US LLP.
