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Viacom and Google Defeat Privacy Claims over Kids' Online Data

By Charles Toutant
January 31, 2015

A federal judge in Newark dismissed multidistrict litigation against Google Inc. and Viacom Inc. in rejecting claims that the companies' online data collection violates the privacy of children under 13. Brought on behalf of children who visit three Viacom websites ' Nick.com, NickJr.com and Neopets.com ' the litigation failed to state a claim under the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) because no showing was made that the companies ever learn the children's actual identities, U.S. District Judge Stanley Chesler of the District of New Jersey said. And the claim under the tort of intrusion upon seclusion failed because the defendants' conduct would not be “highly offensive” to a reasonable person, Judge Chesler said in his Jan. 20 ruling. In re Nickelodeon Consumer Privacy Litigation, MDL 2443.

The complaint's dismissal comes after a July 2014 decision finding the pleadings deficient. The plaintiffs failed to cure those deficiencies in their latest pleadings, Judge Chesler said.

The litigation, representing six suits consolidated from around the country, concerned Viacom's practice of creating a record for each registered user of its websites for children, including gender, birth date and which videos and games users access from the site, according to court documents. Viacom also places a cookie onto the user's computer, allowing it to gather information, such as the user's IP address, device and browser settings, and Viacom shares that information with Google. Additionally, Viacom allows Google to place its own cookie on users' computers, allowing Google to track a user's Internet activity. Both Viacom and Google use the information they gather to target plaintiffs with ads, according to court documents.

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