Toysrus.com Hit with Class Action SuitsAugust 21, 2000
Two class-action lawsuits accuse Toys R Us of violating the privacy of online shoppers by sharing the shoppers’ personal information with Coremetrics which analyzes the behavior of Web-site visitors. The suits are based on California law. Coremetrics acts as a subcontractor for online retailers in analyzing consumer data. Toysrus.com’s privacy policy doesn’t mention it’s relationship with the data analysis company, but it does state that Toys R Us may “utilize a service provider to assist us in aggregating guest information.” Further, Toysrus.com’s privacy policy allows the aggregated data to be shared with prospective business partners and advertisers but “does not contain any information that could identify an individual (user of the site).” According to the Toysrus.com privacy policy they do not sell or rent the personally identifiable information they collect from online shoppers.
The question is whether or not allowing data to be captured by an unidentified and invisible subcontractor constitutes distribution of data in contradiction to the site’s posted privacy policy. Coremetrics has posted a response on its Website clarifying that they do not resell any data. Reportedly other online retailers have added mentions of their relationships with Coremetrics to their Website privacy policies in reaction to the suits.