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Viacom and Google Defeat Privacy Claims over Kids' Online Data

By Charles Toutant
January 31, 2015

A federal judge in Newark dismissed multidistrict litigation against Google Inc. and Viacom Inc. in rejecting claims that the companies' online data collection violates the privacy of children under 13. Brought on behalf of children who visit three Viacom websites ' Nick.com, NickJr.com and Neopets.com ' the litigation failed to state a claim under the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) because no showing was made that the companies ever learn the children's actual identities, U.S. District Judge Stanley Chesler of the District of New Jersey said. And the claim under the tort of intrusion upon seclusion failed because the defendants' conduct would not be “highly offensive” to a reasonable person, Judge Chesler said in his Jan. 20 ruling. In re Nickelodeon Consumer Privacy Litigation, MDL 2443.

The complaint's dismissal comes after a July 2014 decision finding the pleadings deficient. The plaintiffs failed to cure those deficiencies in their latest pleadings, Judge Chesler said.

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