A woman is suing Microsoft and two major sex toy retailers in the United States. She claims that their websites track users without their consent, despite promises not to do so. In the complaint, San Francisco resident Stella Tatola alleges that companies Babeland and Good Vibrations, owned by Barnaby Ltd. LLC, allowed Microsoft to see what visitors to their sites were searching for and buying.
"Without the knowledge of the plaintiff and other Barnaby site users, which is a blatant violation of privacy, Barnaby allows an undisclosed third party, Microsoft, to intercept, read, and use for commercial gain consumers' personal information about their sexual practices and preferences, collected from their activity on Barnaby sites. This information includes, but is not limited to product searches and purchase initiation, as well as a unique Microsoft identifier for the consumer," the complaint states.
It is alleged that the Good Vibrations and Babeland sites install trackers using Microsoft Clarity software, which "records in real time" and tracks users' mouse movements, clicks or taps, scrolling, and site navigation.
"By allowing the undisclosed third party Microsoft to eavesdrop and intercept users' PPSI in this manner, including their sexual orientation, preferences, and desires, among other highly confidential, protected information, Barnaby violates its own Privacy Policy, which states that it will never disclose such information to third parties."
The complaint includes screenshots of code from sexual health websites, which claim to use Machine Unique Identifier (MUID) cookies that "identify unique web browsers visiting Microsoft sites" and are used for advertising, analytics, and other purposes. It is alleged that this violates the California Invasion of Privacy Act, the Federal Wiretap Act, and the reasonable expectations of privacy of California residents.
In February, the woman filed a class action lawsuit against Adam & Eve, another major sex toy retailer, alleging that its site provided Google with information about her searches for 8-inch dildos and harnesses.
Source: 404 Media
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