The Rise of Privacy Class Action

Privacy Class Action cases have been rising dramatically, both in quantity and severity. Despite this, there is no adequate solution to help return privacy to victims. Here, we will break down the rise of the Privacy & Pixel litigation category, identify why it is so large and take a look at possible solutions.

Privacy Class Action Cases Outpace Data Breach

In 2024 alone, Privacy settlements totaled over $2.01B – a 52% increase over the previous year. This is more than 3x larger than Data Breach Class Action which totaled $593M in 2024. Data Breach is still growing, but at +15% it is nowhere near that of Privacy. 

Privacy class action has thwarted data breach over the past few years.

Driven by Big Tech Companies

This is being driven primarily by large technology companies that take advantage of consumer data to maximize returns. Let’s take the example of Frasco v. Flo Health. In this case, the health all illegally shared users’ sensitive private health data, including information about menstruation, ovulation, and pregnancy, with third-party tech companies such as Google and Meta without user consent. This allowed Flo Health and other advertisers to create highly detailed and personalized profiles of users based on their sensitive health information. With these profiles, advertisers could then deliver highly targeted advertisements and content to users, potentially exploiting their private health conditions and interests for commercial gain. This is not a confined case – it is widespread across the industry. In our connected world, data (especially health data) has immense value and companies will go to extreme lengths to turn that data into actionable strategies that enable growth. This won’t stop, privacy misuse won’t stop. These companies repeatedly strip away consumer privacy, but victims are left with nothing to reclaim it. 

Comparing to Data Breach

In Privacy cases, cash payments range from $5-$50, nowhere near enough to purchase the tools to reclaim their privacy. This is similar to where Data Breach class action was 20 years ago. Maximum harm, minimum impact – a problem CyEx was determined to solve. 

In data breach, typical restitution came in the form of nominal cash payout or run-of-the-mill credit monitoring – neither adequate solutions to protect victims of data breach. That is why CyEx built an arsenal of specialized solutions to help victims of data breach – including Medical Shield, Financial Shield, Identity Defense, & Minor Defense. Each was specifically engineered to give victims the protection they need. This changed the industry – going from inadequate to exceptional. Now, this is the standard in Data Breach and CyEx leads the way.

We saw a similar need in the Privacy litigation space – immense consumer harm, but lacking a specialized response. That is why we built Privacy Shield.

Privacy Shield has already been leveraged in key cases involving Peloton, Starbucks, The National Basketball Association (NBA), and Major League Soccer (MLS).