Yahoo Sued Over Email Tracking
Yahoo was sued Thursday in the U.S. Court of Southern New York for violating user privacy after allegedly deploying tracking technology that compiled profiles of users based on data and information obtained without their knowledge or consent.
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"Yahoo does not simply track identity -- it profiles individuals, a key feature used to fuel its lucrative advertising business," the complaint said. To do this, "Yahoo has been secretly harvesting and monetizing directly identifiable user data from millions of U.S. residents without their knowledge and consent."
Class-action plaintiffs in case 25-02797 have used their email addresses to create user accounts on several sites that use Yahoo's tracking technology, the complaint alleges. When logging onto those sites with their email, Yahoo intercepts the email and links it to a Yahoo ConnectID, which tracks the plaintiffs across the internet and compiles profiles of them, the plaintiffs alleged. Since consent was not given for the tracking, collecting and storage of personal data, Yahoo is in violation of the California Invasion of Privacy Act, the Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud Act and Common Law Invasion of Privacy, among other claims, according to the complaint.