The lawsuit filed in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, on January 29, 2025, brings to light serious allegations against Future US LLC. The plaintiff, Jackson Scarlett, accuses the company of violating privacy laws by secretly installing tracking software on visitors' browsers when they access TechRadar.com. This class action complaint demands a jury trial and seeks to hold Future US LLC accountable for infringing upon the privacy rights of California residents.
Jackson Scarlett's legal team from Bursor & Fisher, P.A., argues that Future US LLC has violated the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) by using trackers without users' consent. These trackers—TripleLift Tracker, ADNXS Tracker, and Undertone Tracker—collect IP addresses and other identifying information from website visitors. Scarlett claims that this data is used for targeted marketing and advertising purposes without prior user approval or a court order, thus breaching CIPA § 638.51(a). "By installing and using the Trackers without Plaintiff's prior consent," Scarlett asserts in the complaint, "Defendant violated CIPA."
The lawsuit details how these trackers function as "pen registers" under CIPA because they capture routing and addressing information from users' devices. The complaint emphasizes that public IP addresses can reveal significant personal information about users' geographical locations and are extensively used in advertising strategies. By capturing such data through their website's code, Future US LLC allegedly facilitates real-time bidding processes where advertisers bid to show ads to specific users based on their profiles.
Scarlett seeks statutory damages for each violation of CIPA § 638.51 amounting to $5,000 per instance. Additionally, he requests an injunction to prevent Future US LLC from continuing these practices that infringe upon individuals' privacy rights. The case highlights ongoing concerns about digital privacy and the use of sophisticated tracking technologies by companies for commercial gain.
Representing Jackson Scarlett are attorneys L. Timothy Fisher and Emily A. Horne from Bursor & Fisher, P.A., while the case is presided over by Judge Austin Lam under Case No. CGC-25-621912.