Assassin's Creed series publisher Ubisoft is being sued for sharing user data from its Store and Ubisoft + subscription service with Facebook company Meta.
As reported by Bloomberg Law (Thanks, VGC), the class action complaint reveals that the publisher of some of the most popular gaming franchises still active today has been sharing personally identifiable information with Meta every time a user purchases a game on the Ubisoft Store or subscribes to its + service via the Pixel user tracking software, which isn't disclosed in any way. As such, this data-sharing practice is in violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act introduced in 1988, which was created to prevent "wrongful disclosure of video tape rental or sale records". The Act was later amended in 2013 to allow streaming networks to share personally identifiable data, but only with the user's consent.
"The Pixel cannot be placed on a website without steps taken directly by defendant or on behalf of defendant (e.g. by a website manager). The Pixel cannot be placed on the website by Facebook without the knowledge and cooperation of the defendant," the class action complaint reads while adding that Ubisoft is clearly not seeking the user's approval to track and share their data with Meta.
The lawsuit has yet to receive a class action certification, but the plaintiffs are seeking a trial and financial compensation for everyone involved. They also want Ubisoft to remove Pixel from its website or seek consent from the users to share their data.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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