The California Attorney General said that Sling TV confused and misdirected consumers looking to exercise their right to halt the sale of their personal information
California Attorney General Rob Bonta recently secured a settlement with streaming service Sling TV that resolved allegations that the company violated the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The AG claimed that Sling TV failed to provide an easy-to-use method for consumers to stop the sale of their personal information and by failing to provide sufficient privacy protections for children.
Sling TV collects first-party data directly from its customers and sells or shares it with third parties for targeted advertising purposes. It also purchases data concerning its customers and their households from various third parties. This includes data like location, interests, and detailed demographic and psychographic attributes. Sling TV combines both the first-party and third-party customer data to create cross-context behavioral advertising—an enhanced data set for its targeted advertising. Because of this, Sling TV has been able to leverage its advertising profits by giving advertisers opportunities to precisely target consumers on the TV platform.
“Consumers who figured out that turning off cookies would not stop all selling and sharing of their information had to click through hard-to-find links and fill out a webform to actually opt out,” the complaint stated.
Instead of a direct “Do Not Sell My Personal Information” link, Sling TV provided a “Your Privacy Choices” link that brought customers to their cookie preferences. This doesn’t constitute a valid CCPA opt-out from the sale and sharing of consumers’ personal information, the Attorney General said.
The investigation and proposed settlement come from the California Department of Justice’s (DOJ) investigative sweep announced in January 2024. That probe focused on the compliance of streaming services and connected TVs with CCPA’s right to opt-out. Under the proposed settlement, Sling TV agreed to pay $530,000 in civil penalties and implement changes to ensure the CCPA opt-out is easy for consumers to do, requires minimal steps, and considers the way the business interacts with consumers.
The settlement is subject to court approval and also requires the company to provide parents with clear disclosures and tools to minimize collection and use of their children’s data.
“Californians have critical privacy rights. Our investigative sweep looked at all the different ways consumers should be able to stop the sale of their data when using streaming services,” said Attorney General Bonta.
“We take privacy rights seriously and Sling TV was not providing consumers an easy way to opt-out of the sale of their personal data as required. My office is committed to the continued enforcement of the CCPA — every Californian has the right to their online privacy, especially in the comfort of their living room,” Bonta remarked.
Sling TV is an internet-based live TV service that offers a paid subscription, along with a free, ad-supported streaming service. Unlike traditional television, where advertising is based on the content of the programming, Sling TV uses its internet-based platform to deliver highly targeted advertising. They use detailed consumer data such as age, gender, location, and income to personalize ads for viewers, frequently without their knowing.
In 2024, the California Department of Justice named Sling TV as a target in its investigative sweep, due to the provider’s confusing and hard-to-find methods to opt-out of the sale and sharing of personal information. Sling TV combined cookie preferences with the CCPA opt-out, despite the fact that to truly opt-out, turning off cookies was insufficient.
Sling TV customers were forced to search for an embedded link to a webform and click through confirmation steps to complete their request. Even Sling TV customers who were logged in (and Sling knew their identity), were required to complete a webform with their name, address, email, and phone number. This was information that was already known to Sling TV.
Sling TV didn’t provide methods to opt-out within its apps on various living-room devices. Plus, they didn’t offer children’s profiles that would reduce the use of targeted advertising when children are watching or otherwise obtain affirmative “opt-in” authorization when minors under the age of 16 were likely watching.
Under the settlement Sling TV is required to do the following:
- Stop directing consumers seeking to opt out of their cookie preferences under the CCPA;
- Stop making customers who are logged to complete a webform with information already available to Sling TV, adding unnecessary steps and could deter consumers from exercising their opt-out rights;
- Give an opt-out mechanism within the Sling TV app on various living-room devices, so customers accessing Sling TV on various devices don’t need to go to Sling TV’s website to opt-out;
- Permit parents to select one or more user profiles as a “kid’s profile” that defaults to not selling and sharing personal information and targeted advertising; and
- Give parents clear disclosures and tools to protect their children’s privacy.
“We are pleased to reach a resolution with the California Department of Justice (DOJ) and have implemented privacy enhancements to address the DOJ’s concerns,” said a Sling TV spokesperson in a statement. “While we disagree with certain characterizations, Sling remains committed to respecting the privacy rights of its customers.”
This settlement is the fifth under the CCPA.
Bottom Line
The CCPA secures increased privacy rights for California consumers, like the right to know how businesses collect, share, and disclose their personal information. Businesses that are subject to the CCPA have specific responsibilities: they must respond to consumer requests to exercise these rights and give consumers specific notices that explain their privacy practices.
Under the CCPA’s right to opt out, businesses that sell personal data or share personal information for targeted advertising must allow customers the right to opt-out. Exercising this right should be easy and involve minimal steps. The AG says that customers using a SmartTV should be able to navigate to the settings menu in a streaming service’s mobile app and enable the service’s “Do Not Sell My Personal Information” setting.
Further, “customers should also be able to have this choice honored across different devices if they are logged into their account when they send their opt-out request. And, consumers should be able to easily encounter a streaming service’s privacy policy that discusses their CCPA rights.”
Businesses should provide simple and easy-to-use opt-out instructions for the selling or sharing of consumers’ personal information. In addition, businesses should examine their controls to comply with the CCPA’s requirements designed to protect children. Contact Eanet, PC for assistance with the California Consumer Privacy Act.