Second Circuit Revives NBA Meta Pixel VPPA Class Action
The Second Circuit revived a class action against the NBA over Meta Pixel data privacy claims under the VPPA.
Why it matters: Legal teams handling privacy and compliance must monitor evolving interpretations of the Video Privacy Protection Act to ensure digital tracking tools like Meta Pixel comply with federal privacy laws.
- The Second Circuit revived a VPPA class action against the NBA in October 2024, affirming users as "consumers" eligible for protection under the law.
- The Video Privacy Protection Act, enacted in 1988, prohibits sharing personally identifiable video viewing info without consumer consent.
- The Meta Pixel is a script used on websites to track user activity and target ads, forming the basis of the privacy claims against the NBA.
- Previous Second Circuit rulings, including Solomon and Hughes, have dismissed some Pixel-based VPPA claims but the NBA effort to exclude this class action was overturned.
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals revived a class action lawsuit in October 2024 accusing the National Basketball Association of violating the federal Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) through customer data collection using Meta Pixel tracking.
The VPPA, passed in 1988, aims to protect consumers by forbidding video service providers from disclosing personally identifiable video viewing information without informed consent. Although originally focused on videotape rental records, courts are increasingly interpreting its protections in the context of online video and digital data collection.
In this case, the Second Circuit held that users of audiovisual content services, such as NBA digital platforms, qualify as protected "consumers" under the VPPA. This recent ruling reinstated the class action, overruling the NBA's bid to dismiss claims related to data collected by Meta Pixel scripts embedded on its websites.
The Meta Pixel is a JavaScript tool used on websites to monitor visitor interactions and optimize advertising. Plaintiffs allege the NBA’s use of Meta Pixel unlawfully shares identifiable user data without proper consent, violating the VPPA.
While prior Second Circuit decisions like Solomon v. PulsePoint and Hughes v. NFL (Sept. 2023) dismissed some Meta Pixel-related VPPA claims, this renewed focus signals courts may reconsider frameworks around digital video data privacy.
Legal and compliance professionals should closely watch developments in this litigation, as it illustrates shifting judicial approaches to applying a decades-old statute to modern digital tracking technologies, potentially prompting changes to how tracking tools like Meta Pixel are deployed to avoid legal risk.
By the numbers:
- 1988 — Year the Video Privacy Protection Act was enacted
- October 2024 — When the Second Circuit revived the VPPA class action against the NBA
- Sept. 2023 — Hughes v. NFL ruling dismissed some Meta Pixel VPPA claims
Yes, but: Prior rulings in the Second Circuit have dismissed Meta Pixel VPPA claims, indicating some judicial resistance to expanding the law’s application to digital tracking technologies.
What's next: Further appellate briefing and possible Supreme Court review could clarify how the VPPA applies to digital tracking pixels like Meta Pixel in coming years.