Judge Denies CNN's Motion to Dismiss CIPA Privacy Class Action[1][2]

Published
Score
7

Why it matters

A federal judge in New York ruled on April 10 that CNN must defend a class action lawsuit alleging its website embedded tracking tools from Microsoft, PubMatic, and OpenX to collect user data for targeted advertising without consent, violating the California Invasion of Privacy Act. The plaintiffs claim the embedded code functioned as a CIPA "pen register," capturing personal information that advertisers then bid on through real-time bidding auctions. The court found the tracking allegations plausible enough to survive CNN's motion to dismiss, though it left open CNN's argument that the tools qualified for a service-maintenance exemption.

The case names Warner Bros. Discovery as CNN's parent company. It mirrors a 2023 class action against CNN over Facebook pixel sharing of subscriber video data. The complaint was filed before April 10; the dismissal motion was denied that day. The full details of the tracking mechanisms and the scope of data collection remain undisclosed in public filings.

Publishers embedding third-party ad trackers now face heightened CIPA exposure. The ruling signals that courts will allow privacy claims to proceed past the pleading stage when plaintiffs can show concrete injury through data collection and real-time bidding on their information. Any publisher using similar adtech infrastructure without explicit user consent should review its consent mechanisms and consider whether its current practices can withstand similar challenges.

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