Measurement
company comScore will pay an estimated 16,000 panelists between $500 and $700 to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging that the company violated panelists' privacy by collecting too much information
about them.
The payout details were revealed on Wednesday, in a motion asking U.S. District Court Judge James Holderman in the Northern District of Illinois to grant final approval to the $14
million settlement. The deal also requires comScore to revise its disclosures to panelists and implement procedures to make sure its “bundling partners” -- companies that distribute
comScore's software along with free screensavers, games or other programs -- also disclose the company's terms.
The plaintiffs' lawyers say in court papers that the deal should be approved,
due to the “exceptional results achieved” and the “overwhelmingly positive response” from panelists. They add that 9,600 panelists have so far submitted claims, and that
an additional 6,300 are expected to do so. To date, only one panelist has opted out of the settlement, according to class counsel.
“Plaintiffs view the $14 million non-reversionary
settlement fund ... as well as the prospective relief offered by the settlement, to be an extraordinary result for the class, especially when compared to other privacy class action settlements,”
lawyers for the consumers argue. They specifically note that privacy class-actions against other companies -- including Facebook, Google and Netflix -- were resolved without payment to the Web users
affected by the alleged violations.
If approved by Holderman, the deal will put an end to a lawsuit brought against comScore by panel members Jeff Dunstan and Mike Harris in 2011. They alleged
that they installed comScore's software after downloading a free product, but didn't realize that the company would collect a “terrifying” amount of data -- including usernames and
passwords, search queries, credit card numbers and retail transactions.
The latest motion notes that settlement talks grew more serious last August, shortly after Holderman said the consumers
could proceed as a class, instead of as individuals. comScore, which opposed class-action status, unsuccessfully attempted to appeal that ruling to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.
That effort
was backed by a coalition of trade groups, including the Direct Marketing Association, Interactive Advertising Bureau, Association of National Advertisers, American Association of Advertising Agencies
and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The trade groups argued that privacy lawsuits against Web companies could hinder online commerce. “This case and others like it implicate foundational internet
communication and commerce technology,” they said at the time.
Holderman could decide as early as Oct.1 whether to grant the deal final approval.