Software Firm To Pay $14M For Collecting, Selling Customer Data Without Permission

Software company comScore will pay $14 million to settle a class action alleging the company collected online data from consumers without first getting consent and then sold it to third party vendors. Plaintiffs claimed comScore violated the Stored Communications Act, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act. ComScore also agreed to establish a way for consumers to uninstall the software, and to have third-party compliance audits conducted. This case is a reminder, writes Winston & Strawn attorney Liisa M. Thomas, that plaintiff attorneys are watching companies’ tracking activities.