Sling TV Reaches CCPA Settlement After California DOJ Investigation

According to a Covington blog, the California Attorney General’s $530,000 settlement with Sling TV marks the first resolution to result from the  California Department of Justice’s streaming services enforcement sweep that began in early 2024.

The agreement addresses allegations that the platform’s design, interfaces, and data-handling practices failed to meet the requirements of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the state’s Unfair Competition Law. The action reflects a focus on consumer control over personal information, especially where services operate across web, mobile, and connected-TV environments.

The complaint asserts that Sling TV did not offer straightforward or accessible opt-out tools within the contexts in which consumers typically interact with the service.

It further alleges that third-party tracking, cross-context behavioral advertising, and device-based interactions were not accompanied by sufficiently clear methods for exercising statutory rights.

The Attorney General also alleged deficiencies related to minors’ privacy, claiming that Sling TV did not screen for age or provide mechanisms for parents to designate children’s profiles.

The settlement commits Sling TV to eliminating additional forms that request information already associated with logged-in accounts and to providing a functional opt-out mechanism accessible from connected-TV apps.

It also imposes several requirements: consistency of choices across devices; parental tools for child accounts; restrictions on targeted advertising on channels designated for minors; annual assessments of programming classifications; deletion of data associated with known minors; and a three-year compliance program to monitor opt-out effectiveness and privacy protections.

Legal teams advising companies that collect viewer data can review the settlement for insight into how California’s DOJ is scrutinizing interface design,  online advertising practices, and youth-oriented content structures.