MILLION DOLLAR PIXEL. Court Approves $900k Class Settlement in VPPA Case, Awarding Over $200k in Attorneys Fees
A New York court approved a $900,000 settlement in a VPPA case against Springer Nature, awarding over $200,000 to attorneys.Summary
The District Court for the Southern District of New York approved a $900,000 class settlement in *Lee v. Springer Nature America, Inc.*, resolving allegations that Scientific American’s website disclosed user data to Meta without consent, violating the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA). The lawsuit claimed the website shared Facebook IDs, video titles, and URLs with Meta. Following mediation, the defendant agreed to the settlement fund, suspension of the Meta Pixel on relevant webpages, and preservation of its ability to obtain VPPA-compliant consent.
The settlement class includes U.S. individuals who were paying subscribers to Scientific American, possessed a Facebook account, and accessed video content while logged into Facebook during the class period. While only one objection was raised, it was rejected by the court.
The court approved attorneys’ fees of $200,593.13, reducing the initial request of $300,000 after finding billed hours were inflated and applying the *Goldberger* factors. The decision highlights the importance of proactive privacy assessments for digital platforms to mitigate litigation risk related to data analytics tools and evolving privacy laws.
(Source：National Law Review)