Posted on: December 16, 2024, 04:33h.
Last updated on: December 16, 2024, 04:33h.
A former DraftKings client is suing the gaming company, alleging it shared without permission customers’ video-viewing habits.
In a class action suit filed Friday in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, counsel for plaintiff Jeffrey Wan claimed DraftKings used online tracking devices and tools from Facebook that allowed the social media company to collect data on the videos viewed by bettors and the games on which they showed interest in wagering on.
Plaintiff Wan never consented, agreed, nor permitted Defendant to disclose Plaintiff’s personally identifiable information (PII) and viewing information to Facebook or other third parties and certainly did not do so for purposes violative of the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA),” according to the legal document.
DraftKings is one of the largest online sportsbook operators in the US and like many internet-based consumer-facing firms, the company makes clear that it will share customer data with third parties.
“Certain products, services, or other materials displayed on the Website and Applications may integrate with, be integrated into, or be provided in connection with certain third-party services and content. We do not control those services and content and our Terms of Use and this Privacy Policy do not apply to those services and content,” according to the gaming company’s privacy policy.
DraftKings Controlled Data-Sharing, Alleges Wan
Counsel for Wan allege that DraftKings was selective regarding which sets of customer data it shared with Facebook and that the social media company would not have been able to access customers’ PII had the gaming operator not deployed Facebook business tools.
Those tools included Facebook Pixel and Conversions API, which may have allowed for ease in transmitting customer data from DraftKings to the social media firm.
“More specifically, the Facebook pixel that Defendant installed and used tracked, recorded, and sent Facebook its customers’ granular Website and Apps activity, including the names of specific video games and other audio visual content that customers requested and/or viewed each time through Defendant’s Website and Apps. The information is not merely metadata,” noted Wan’s legal team in the court filing.
The attorneys went on to assert that the Facebook tools used by DraftKings aren’t essential to the latter’s business model and even they were, they could have been used in such a way that would have safeguarded clients’ viewing habits and information. The legal team added that when a customer views a video or makes a purchase on DraftKings, a record of that activity is transmitted — without knowledge of the client — to Facebook.
“At no point did Plaintiff or the Class Members consent to Defendant’s disclosure of their video viewing history to third parties. As such, Defendant deprived Plaintiff and the Class Members of their privacy rights and control over their personal information,” according to the filing.
DraftKings Litigation Piling Up
The Wan v. DraftKings case is the latest an increasingly long line of litigation against the Boston-based gaming company. Last month, lawyers for a former DraftKings engineer sued the company in a Massachusetts federal court, alleging the operator fired him for requesting parental leave. If true, that’s a potential violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act.
Soon after that suit was filed, a New Jersey woman sued DraftKings in that state, alleging the company “nurtured” her husband’s problematic betting habits, prompting him to lose nearly $1 million of the family’s money. The sportsbook giant is also dealing with litigation with two unions representing professional athletes involving use of player images.
In September, the gaming company agreed to pay a $200,000 civil penalty after the Securities and Exchange (SEC) claimed CEO Jason Robins divulged material, nonpublic financial data on his social media accounts.
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