Chicago Business Litigation Lawyer Blog
Vendors who share customers’ personal identifying information (name, email address, phone number, zip code, etc.) is a major issue in the world of consumer law today. Vendors (particularly online and mobile vendors) are often tempted to take a customer’s payment information and then sell it to a third party after the transaction has been completed. That third party can then use the customer’s information however they want.
Because of consumers’ numerous complaints about the flagrant mishandling of their personal information, many companies have begun either revealing in their Terms of Service contracts that they might distribute a customer’s personal information, or promising not to reveal their customers’ personal information to a third party, unless it’s required to complete a transaction, or for legal reasons. When given an option between a vendor that sells personal information and a similar vendor that maintains their customers’ privacy, most customers will choose the vendor that respects their privacy.
This issue is at the heart of a recent consumer class action lawsuit filed against Google in California. The company’s Wallet users, who can buy apps through Google Play, agreed to Google’s Terms of Service and privacy policy every time they purchased an app through Google’s Wallet feature. According to the consumer lawsuit, Google’s Terms of Service assure customers their private information will not be shared with any third-party vendors unless it is necessary to do so in order to complete the transaction, or for legal purposes. But the lawsuit alleges that, despite these promises, Google shared the personal information of its Wallet customers with third parties, even after having completed the purchase. Continue reading ›