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Wednesday, January 14, 2026
Ticketmaster Hit With Class Action Alleging Illegal Tracking and ‘Surveillance’
TicketNews: A proposed class action filed in California federal court accuses Ticketmaster of unlawfully using third-party tracking technology to capture and transmit users’ browsing data to major advertising and analytics firms without adequate notice or consent.
2 comments:
DogBlog
said...
I am not surprised this class action lawsuit is being brought against Ticketmasker, especially in California. California has one of if not the strictest and most comprehensive internet privacy laws in the United States. Something this article brings up that I think is particularly interesting is the idea of “meaningful consent” when it comes to the ability to opt out of data collection. The argument made in the lawsuit that because Ticketmaster only allows for opting out through a hyperlink is inefficient to California's law that requires “express prior consent” is super interesting. Going beyond just this lawsuit, I think it acts as an important reminder of how the internet economy works. Although it often can feel like so much of the internet is just free, it is important to remember that when things are free for us, it more often than not means that we, the user, are the product.
This isn’t particularly surprising, given that every app downloaded seems to have a terms of use agreement miles long. It also isn’t particularly surprising that Ticketmaster is tracking people’s phones, as they have a history of some somewhat illegal business practices. It seems like Ticketmaster is under siege from many sides right now, rightly so, and it seems that somewhere they’re bound to break. I wonder if this class action will get folded in with the Department of Justice’s investigation, or continue at the same time. I wonder if all of these suits will be successful against Live Nation & Ticketmaster, and what will happen to the company if they are. If I recall correctly, the Department of Justice’s goal is to break up the company in order to break the monopoly, but it is possible that some other outcome occurs, though that is probably unlikely assuming the Department of Justice does not change course.
2 comments:
I am not surprised this class action lawsuit is being brought against Ticketmasker, especially in California. California has one of if not the strictest and most comprehensive internet privacy laws in the United States. Something this article brings up that I think is particularly interesting is the idea of “meaningful consent” when it comes to the ability to opt out of data collection. The argument made in the lawsuit that because Ticketmaster only allows for opting out through a hyperlink is inefficient to California's law that requires “express prior consent” is super interesting. Going beyond just this lawsuit, I think it acts as an important reminder of how the internet economy works. Although it often can feel like so much of the internet is just free, it is important to remember that when things are free for us, it more often than not means that we, the user, are the product.
This isn’t particularly surprising, given that every app downloaded seems to have a terms of use agreement miles long. It also isn’t particularly surprising that Ticketmaster is tracking people’s phones, as they have a history of some somewhat illegal business practices. It seems like Ticketmaster is under siege from many sides right now, rightly so, and it seems that somewhere they’re bound to break. I wonder if this class action will get folded in with the Department of Justice’s investigation, or continue at the same time. I wonder if all of these suits will be successful against Live Nation & Ticketmaster, and what will happen to the company if they are. If I recall correctly, the Department of Justice’s goal is to break up the company in order to break the monopoly, but it is possible that some other outcome occurs, though that is probably unlikely assuming the Department of Justice does not change course.
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