FanDuel Sued over Alleged Use of Privacy-Violating TikTok Software

FanDuel is facing a lawsuit over its alleged use of privacy-violating software. According to a complaint filed on July 30 in the US District Court for the Central District of California, the leading sports betting operator used software to tracks anonymous users.

FanDuel Is Said to Have Leveraged an Illegal Software

As reported by NEXT.io, the software, developed by TikTok, leverages fingerprinting to collect data about anonymous users and match it with existing TikTok data. As a result, FanDuel could allegedly follow the online activity even of users who might have wanted to remain anonymous.

The complaint furthermore says that this process begins instantly once a customer opens FanDuel’s website, even before visitors are prompted to consent to the use of cookies.

By its alleged use of such software, the complaint argues, the leading operator violated customers’ privacy. In particular, the lawsuit claims that use of such software is illegal under California’s Trap and Trace Law. For context, the law prohibits the use of devices and processes that capture electronic data to identify customers without their consent or a court order.

To make matters worse, FanDuel allegedly never informed customers that it is using the tool in question. The claim stated that users “are never informed that the website is collaborating with the Chinese government to obtain their phone number and other identifying information.”

The Suit Seeks Damages and an Injunction

NEXT.io said that the main plaintiff, Courtney Mitchener, seeks to represent a class of all people in California whose privacy might have been infringed by FanDuel’s website and the operator’s alleged use of an unlawful piece of software.

Mitchener is represented by Tauler Smith, a Los Angeles commercial litigator specializing in such complex business disputes.

The lawsuit seeks statutory damages as per the state law. In addition, the lawsuit requests an injunction to stop FanDuel’s alleged use of the TikTok software.

As of the time of this writing Flutter Entertainment, FanDuel’s parent company, is yet to release an official statement on the matter.

In any case, this wouldn’t be the first time FanDuel has dealt with legal trouble as a month ago, the company received a fine of $2,000 for taking bets on pre-recorded fights. New Jersey gambling regulators also forced to pay out more than $230,000 in winnings.

Speaking of New Jersey, the state just lambasted bet365 for altering betting odds and required the company to pay out $519,000 to its players.