Class Action Lawsuit Against Crunchyroll Alleges Disclosure of User Information to 3rd-Party Analytics Company Braze

By mintory
Class Action Lawsuit Against Crunchyroll Alleges Disclosure of User Information to 3rd-Party Analytics Company Braze

Crunchyroll Sued Over Video Privacy Act

A consumer digital privacy class action complaint was filed against Crunchyroll on March 3. The lawsuit alleges a violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act. Five plaintiffs initiated this legal action.

Allegations of User Data Disclosure

Plaintiffs Francisco Cabonios, minor J.T. (filing through guardian Oskar Toruno), Anthony Gonzales, Matthew Newton, and Alicia Taylor allege Crunchyroll knowingly disclosed users' personally identifiable information. This information concerned their video viewing activity on the company's application. The disclosure was reportedly made to Braze Inc., a third-party marketing and analytics company.

Specifics of Shared Data

The complaint states Crunchyroll transmitted users' email addresses, persistent device identifiers (Device ID), and specific video content titles to Braze. It notes several Crunchyroll titles include sensitive content, such as mature, violent, explicit, and sexually-suggestive material. "Tales of Wedding Rings" is cited as an example featuring sexually-suggestive material.

Demands for Damages

The complaint demands statutory damages of US$2,500 per violation, plus attorney's fees and costs. This redress is sought "on behalf of themselves and others who were similarly injured by Crunchyroll's unlawful conduct."

Braze Inc. and its Software Kit

Braze Inc., formerly Appboy Inc., is a marketing automation and customer engagement platform. It provides a software development kit (SDK) that can be embedded into mobile applications. The complaint alleges Crunchyroll embedded the Braze SDK into its app, at least since 2022.

SDK Functionality and Crunchyroll's Awareness

Data collected through the Braze SDK enables clients to target customers with personalized marketing communication. This includes push notifications, in-app messages, and email campaigns. The Braze SDK transmits personal viewing information to Braze, identifying the specific user and the specific video content they are watching.

The complaint alleges Crunchyroll configured the Braze SDK specifically to enable Braze to connect users' identities to their viewing behavior. It suggests Crunchyroll is aware Braze receives and connects both identifying information (email address and Device ID) and personal viewing information (video titles and Device ID). This awareness stems from Crunchyroll's use of Braze's services to send targeted notifications and marketing messages to specific users based on their specific viewing history. The Video Privacy Protection Act requires a company to acquire "informed, written consent" to disclose such information to a third-party company.

Previous VPPA Lawsuit Settlement

A 2022 class action lawsuit also alleged Crunchyroll violated the VPPA. That case concerned Crunchyroll's use of Facebook Pixel to share users' video viewing information with the third-party company Facebook. Crunchyroll settled that lawsuit for US$16 million in September 2023. The agreement included modifying its use of tracking technologies to prevent disclosure of users' video viewing information without VPPA-compliant consent.

Crunchyroll's Corporate Ties

Crunchyroll operates as an independently managed joint venture between U.S.-based Sony Pictures Entertainment and Japan's Aniplex. Both Sony Pictures Entertainment and Aniplex's parent, Sony Music Entertainment Japan, are in turn subsidiaries of Tokyo-based Sony Group.

Recent Company Acquisition

Sony's Funimation Global Group completed its acquisition of Crunchyroll from AT&T on August 9, 2021. This followed the company's initial announcement of the acquisition in December 2020. The purchase price for Crunchyroll was US$1.175 billion, and the proceeds were paid entirely in cash at closing. Funimation's home video releases are now listed under the Crunchyroll brand.

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