HBO BEFORE THE COURT: Facebook gets data
HBO has sued because it is accused of sending information about its subscribers to Facebook so that they can better target them with personalized ads.
In the world of advertising, information is the key. If you know what your visitors are doing, where they are buying, and what they like, you can serve them advertisements that are in their sphere of interest. Facebook is the company that generates most of its revenue through advertising, and one of the major advertisers is HBO.
A joint lawsuit has been filed against HBO for allegedly sharing subscriber data with Facebook, in order to use that information for better-personalized advertising. According to the lawsuit, HBO shared information with Facebook, and they then combined the profiles of their users with the habits of watching content on the HBO service, in order to create better personal advertising profiles for each individual.
The lawsuit additionally accuses HBO of doing this knowingly, because, as one of the big Facebook advertisers, they know that Facebook can use this information, even though it is illegal. Namely, HBO users in the terms of use do not state anywhere that they allow the sharing of their data with other companies, which is a direct violation of privacy rights in many countries.
User privacy is becoming an increasingly important issue, after it was found that many companies trade their users' data, precisely for the sake of better-targeted advertising with large advertisers. Apple recently introduced a new privacy policy for iOS, which allows detailed privacy settings at the system level and for each application separately, to prevent data sharing. The move significantly affected the business of the largest social network in the world, directly reducing the profit from advertising.
HBO, on the other hand, informs its users that they and their partners use cookies to deliver personalized advertisements, but under the new laws, this general provision is not enough, but separate consent is required to share content viewing history with anyone. The lawsuit alleges that what HBO did goes beyond standard privacy policy.
Unfortunately, HBO is not the only company accused of sharing data with others. TikTok recently paid $ 92 million precisely for violating the privacy of its users.
It remains to be seen how things will turn out, but there is a good chance that HBO will agree to a settlement, so as not to procrastinate in the courts because this could be a big problem if it turns out that HBO really did what the lawsuit says.
