Star Tribune settles class-action lawsuit over video data sharing

The Star Tribune has agreed to pay $2.9 million in a class-action settlement stemming from a lawsuit that claimed the newspaper illegally shared data related to subscribers' video-watching habits with Facebook.

The agreement, reached by the newspaper and attorneys for a subscriber who first filed the federal lawsuit last year, was proposed on Friday and still needs approval by U.S. District Judge Eric Tostrud. A hearing on the motion has not been scheduled.

Kyle Feldman, a Star Tribune subscriber, alleged in his original July 2022 complaint that the newspaper violated the federal Video Privacy Protection Act by embedding a tracker called Meta Pixel into its website that sent to Facebook details of Feldman's and others' history of watching videos on the site.

The Star Tribune argued that the case was part of a "sea of copycat lawsuits" filed nationwide against any company that shows videos on its site and uses Meta Pixel. The newspaper said Meta Pixel does not allow Facebook to identify the specific videos watched by users.

But Feldman claimed that the newspaper violated federal law by sending a string of personally identifiable computer code — commonly called a "cookie" — to Facebook each time a user watched a video on the Star Tribune's site while also logged into their Facebook account. His original complaint sought $2,500 per violation.

Friday's proposed agreement came after a daylong settlement conference in August. The newspaper would agree to no longer use Meta Pixel on any page of the website that includes video content or a URL identifying the video content viewed.

The Star Tribune's insurance carrier, CNA Insurance, has agreed to pay the $2.9 million proposed under the settlement. The settlement also includes a caveat that it does not constitute a "finding or admission of liability" by the Star Tribune, nor validation of any claims of wrongdoing or violation of law.

Any U.S. resident who has had a Facebook account and Star Tribune subscription since July 2020 could be eligible for payment under the settlement if they watched videos on the newspaper's website during that time frame.