SeatGeek, the popular online ticketing platform, is facing a proposed class action in California federal court over allegations that it improperly shared website visitors’ personal information with TikTok and Meta through online tracking technologies. The complaint alleges that SeatGeek embedded TikTok and Meta tracking pixels on its website, enabling the companies to collect users’ personal data, including IP addresses, unique identifiers, browsing history, and device details, without user consent. According to the lawsuit, this practice violates California’s “trap and trace” law, a provision of the state’s Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA).
The lawsuit describes how tracking pixels—snippets of code embedded in websites—function as surveillance tools for digital advertising.
- TikTok Pixel: Allegedly collects information the moment a visitor lands on SeatGeek’s website, capturing data such as names, addresses, birthdates, IP addresses, device details, and browsing activity. The complaint claims TikTok’s “AutoAdvanced Matching” and fingerprinting technologies deanonymize users by linking their activity with data TikTok already maintains on hundreds of millions of people.
- Meta (Facebook) Pixel: Allegedly tracks website interactions, including clicks, form submissions, purchases, and browsing behavior, and matches this activity to individual Facebook accounts through cookies and unique IDs. The data can then be used by both Meta and SeatGeek to measure conversions, build custom audiences, and target advertisements more precisely.
Torres alleges that every time a user lands on SeatGeek’s website or clicks through a page, their information is immediately transmitted to TikTok and Meta. This, he argues, constitutes the use of an unlawful “trap and trace device” under California law. Torres is seeking to represent statutory damages, interest, attorney fees, and costs for the class. Organizations that rely on digital advertising should take note: the number of lawsuits targeting pixel use continue to rise, and regulators and courts are receptive to arguments that such practices violate consumer privacy rights; until the courts or the legislature takes steps to limit these claims, your website could be a target.