5 plaintiffs filed class action complaint alleging violation of Video Privacy Protection Act
Image courtesy of Crunchyroll
© Crunchyroll
A number of plaintiffs filed a consumer digital privacy class action complaint against Crunchyroll on March 3. The complaint alleges that Crunchyroll violated the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA).
Plaintiffs Francisco Cabonios, minor J.T. filing the action through gaurdian Oskar Toruno, Anthony Gonzales, Matthew Newton, and Alicia Taylor are alleging that Crunchyroll knowingly disclosed users’ personally identifiable information concerning their video viewing activity on the company’s application to a third-party marketing and analytics company Braze Inc. According to the complaint, Crunchyroll transmits users email addresses, persistent device identifiers (Device ID), and the titles of specific video content they watch to Braze. The complaint notes that several titles hosted on Crunchyroll include sensitive content, “such as mature, violent, explicit, and sexually-suggestive material.” The complaint specifically names Tales of Wedding Rings as an example. that features sexually-suggestive material.
The complaint is demanding statutory damages of US$2,500 per violation, plus attorney’s fees and costs, as redress “on behalf of themselves and others who were similarly injured by Crunchyroll’s unlawful conduct.”
Braze Inc. was formerly known as Appboy Inc. It is a marketing automation and customer engagement platform. The company provides its clients with a software development kit (SDK) that can be embedded into mobile applications such as that of Crunchyroll. The complaint alleges that Crunchyroll embedded the Braze SDK into its app on “an unknown date, but at least since 2022.” Data collected through the Braze SDK enables its clients to target customers with personalized marketing communication through push notifications, in-app messages, and email campaigns. The Braze SDK transmits personal viewing information to Braze in a manner that identifies the specific user and the specific video content they are watching. The complaint includes examples of such transmissions (pictured below).
Image via Anime Corner
According to the complaint, Crunchyroll configured the Braze SDK specifically to enable Braze to connect users’ identities to their viewing behavior. It alleges that Crunchyroll is aware that Braze receives and connects both identifying information (email address and Device ID) and personal viewing information (video titles and Device ID) “because Crunchyroll uses Braze’s services to send targeted push notifications and marketing messages to specific users based on their specific viewing history.” According to the VPPA, a company must acquire “informed, written consent” to disclose such information to a third-party company.
A 2022 class action lawsuit against Crunchyroll also alleged a violation of the VPPA for using Facebook Pixel to share users’ video viewing information with third-party company Facebook. Crunchyroll settled the lawsuit for US$16 million and agreed to modify its use of tracking technologies to prevent disclosure of users’ video viewing information without VPPA-compliant consent in September 2023.
Crunchyroll is an independently operated joint venture between U.S.-based Sony Pictures Entertainment and Japan’s Aniplex. Sony Pictures Entertainment and Aniplex’s Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) parent are both in turn subsidiaries of Tokyo-based Sony Group.
Sony’s Funimation Global Group completed its acquisition of Crunchyroll from AT&T on August 9, 2021, after the company first announced the acquisition in December 2020. The purchase price was US$1.175 billion, and the proceeds were paid in cash at closing. Funimation’s home video releases are now listed under Crunchyroll.
Source: PACER via AnimeCorner
