In a groundbreaking lawsuit that could reshape online privacy norms, a class action complaint has been filed against a major online news platform. The plaintiff, Barton Golub, lodged the complaint in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco on March 4, 2025, targeting TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. for allegedly violating privacy laws.
The lawsuit claims that The Huffington Post has been secretly installing tracking software on users' browsers without their consent. These trackers—Connatix Tracker, ADNXS Tracker, and OpenX Tracker—are operated by third parties Connatix, Microsoft, and OpenX respectively. They collect users' IP addresses and other device identifiers to facilitate hyper-targeted advertising. According to the complaint, this practice constitutes an illegal use of "pen registers" under Section 638.50(b) of the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA). Golub alleges that these actions not only violate CIPA but also constitute an invasion of privacy for him and countless others who have visited the website from California.
Golub's legal team argues that by installing these trackers without obtaining prior consent or a court order, The Huffington Post is engaging in unauthorized surveillance. "Defendant’s conduct enriches itself at the expense of user privacy," reads the complaint. It further explains how data brokers like OpenX use collected IP addresses to build comprehensive user profiles that are then sold to advertisers for targeted marketing campaigns. This process is facilitated through real-time bidding platforms where advertisers bid to show ads to specific users based on their detailed profiles.
The lawsuit seeks statutory damages for each violation under CIPA § 638.51(a), which allows individuals to claim $5,000 per incident. Additionally, it demands injunctive relief to prevent further unauthorized data collection practices by The Huffington Post and its partners.
Representing Golub are attorneys L. Timothy Fisher and Emily A. Horne from Bursor & Fisher P.A., while the case is being overseen by judges in the United States District Court for the County of San Francisco under Case No. CGC-25-622955.