Swigart Law Group Meta Pixel Lawsuits: Core Facts & Details

The Swigart Law Group has been at the forefront of some aggressive data privacy litigation, targeting companies under the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA).

The law firm argues that companies using the Meta Pixel engage in an invasive form of wiretapping, which goes against the principles of the law. 

Here’s a deeper dive into how their work with Meta Pixel cases has started a broader conversation on data privacy, leading to groundbreaking changes for consumers.

What is the Meta Pixel?

The Meta Pixel is an invisible code snippet website owners use to track user actions, gather insights, and target advertisements. It's used to identify website visitors and serve them ads when logged on to Meta-owned platforms like Facebook and Instagram. At its core, the Meta Pixel is a de-anonymization tool designed to help marketers build better ad tracking and attribution.

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Swigart Law Group and its Meta Pixel Lawsuits

Swigart Law Group’s work with CIPA has turned the spotlight on these practices, challenging the lack of transparency in how companies use such tools. They’ve argued that Meta Pixel effectively bypasses user consent, which, under California privacy laws, is a fundamental right.

Case 1: Uninformed Consent in Tracking

Swigart Law Group brought a notable case on behalf of clients who unknowingly had their data tracked and collected via the Meta Pixel while visiting certain medical provider websites. This case argued that patients who were simply seeking medical information on sensitive health topics had their private data shared with Meta’s ad algorithms without their permission.

Swigart asserted that this was a blatant breach of CIPA because users neither consented to the data collection nor were informed about the Meta Pixel’s presence. 

Case 2: The Class Action for Streaming Services

Beyond healthcare, Swigart Law Group extended its work to challenge data tracking in the entertainment sector, where companies use Meta Pixel to track and log users’ viewing habits. In a class-action lawsuit against several major streaming platforms, Swigart argued that consumers were misled into believing their viewing choices were private when, in reality, every movie, episode, and genre preference was being silently collected and processed for advertising purposes.

The lawsuit drew attention to the vulnerability of personal viewing habits and questioned whether companies had overstepped in their use of this information. By linking this to CIPA, Swigart established that users have a right to be fully informed about any such tracking, a concept that had not been widely considered in entertainment.

Case 3: Health and Wellness Tracking Cases

In another groundbreaking case, Swigart Law Group represented a group of plaintiffs who had used mental health apps to track personal progress and connect with mental health resources. Unbeknownst to them, these apps integrated Meta Pixel to capture interactions and send data to Meta for behavioral analysis.

Swigart Law Group’s argument here was that consumers using health and wellness tools should never have to worry about third-party tracking of such personal data. 

Enzuzo's consent management software helps companies comply with both CIPA & Meta Pixel Lawsuits. Book a complimentary demo to learn more