Saucony.com records and shares user conversations, alleges a recent CIPA Class Action
A recent class action under the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) accused Saucony.com, an online footwear store, of illegally recording and sharing customer chats.
This CIPA complaint alleges Saucony.com recorded and shared users’ private conversations without their consent. The conversations between the website visitors and their chatbot are the subject matter of the lawsuit. The lawsuit claims that the website actively disclosed private conversations to at least one third party. The complaint further alleges that the website did not take written consent from the users before recording or sharing their conversations, thereby violating CIPA.
Saucony.com is an e-commerce website which sells shoes, running apparel and other related accessories. Delaware based Wolverine World Wide, Inc. owns and operates the website Saucony.com. Just like any e-commerce website, users can interact with an automated chatbot on Saucony.com too. The complaint accuses Defendant Wolverine World Wide of recording and sharing contents of the conversations users have with the chatbots on Saucony.com without users’ consent.
“Defendant has covertly embedded code into its chat feature that automatically records and creates transcripts of all such conversations.”
Licea v. Wolverine World Wide, Inc. – 3:22-cv-01564
The CIPA Class Action alleges that Saucony.com illegally recorded and shared customer private communications with third parties.
On October 12, Plaintiff Jose Licea filed the CIPA complaint against Wolverine World Wide, Inc. in the Southern District of California. Interestingly, Plaintiff Licea also filed another similar complaint against Genesco on the same day. In the Genesco complaint, Plaintiff Licea accused Journeys.com of recording users’ chats without consent in violation of CIPA.
Plaintiff Licea, a “consumer privacy advocate,” had “dual motivations” for using the chat functions on Saucony.com, states the complaint. The complaint states that Plaintiff Licea was not only curious about Defendant’s merchandise, but also wanted to “test” Defendant’s chatbot. To ensure that it complied with California’s privacy laws.
It is noteworthy that Plaintiff Licea has accused multiple websites of illegally recording and sharing users’ private chats in violation of CIPA. Apart from Journeys.com, he also filed another similar complaint against the gaming company, GameStop, for the same CIPA violations.
Under CIPA, it is illegal to transcribe users’ conversations or to distribute those transcripts to third parties without their permission.
“The California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”) prohibits both wiretapping and eavesdropping of electronic communications without the consent of all parties to the communication. Compliance with CIPA is easy, and the vast majority of website operators comply by conspicuously warning visitors when their conversations are being recorded or if third parties are eavesdropping on them.”
“Unlike most companies, Defendant ignores CIPA. Instead, Defendant both wiretaps the conversations of all website visitors and allows a third party to eavesdrop on the conversations in real time during transmission. Why? Because, as one industry expert notes, “Live chat transcripts are the gold mines of customer service. At your fingertips, you have valuable customer insight. . .When people are chatting, you have direct access to their exact pain points.) See https://www.ravience.co/post/improve-marketing-roi-live-chat-transcripts“
Licea v. Wolverine World Wide, Inc. – 3:22-cv-01564
The class includes anyone in California who used the chat feature on Saucony.com from a cell phone, whose communications were recorded or shared without consent. The complaint seeks to recover $5,000 in statutory damages for Plaintiff and other class members. Plaintiff expects the class to include more than 5,000 people.
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What could this class action mean to you?
Consumers often disclose “highly personal and sensitive data” via the website’s chat feature. The complaint alleges that Defendant’s “secret” data collection practices would “shock and appal” customers. Hence, if you have visited Saucony.com and shared personal information with their chatbot, these allegations directly affect you as well.
If not Saucony.com, there could still be other websites on which you interacted with a chatbot. Many of these websites could be sharing your conversations without your consent, in violation of CIPA.
If you are a California resident, and have interacted with chatbots without giving them consent to record or share your conversations, chances are, your privacy may have been violated too.
Why are companies sharing or analysing our conversations with their chatbots? What do they stand to gain from it? Read our investigation on how chatbots may be sharing your conversations with others to find out all the answers.
Is there anything you can do to secure your privacy?
The California Invasion of Privacy Act allows affected consumers to recover up to $5,000 in statutory damages.
If you interact with chatbots, one or more of them may have exposed your personal information without your consent. Your Privacy is worth fighting for. We can help you investigate. Please contact us to consult a class action lawyer at ClassActionNews today. You may be eligible to recover up to $5,000 for any CIPA violation you may have suffered.
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