Skullcandy Trap and Trace Class Action

California law firm Tauler Smith LLP has filed a trap and trace class action against Skullcandy. The civil suit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, accuses the headphone technology company of unlawfully sharing customer data with TikTok for the purposes of fingerprinting and de-anonymization. The consumer fraud lawyers litigating the lawsuit have also accused Skullcandy of violating California consumer protection laws by failing to obtain consent from website visitors.

Are you a California resident who visited the Skullcandy website? If so, you might be eligible to join a class against lawsuit against Skullcandy. Contact Tauler Smith LLP for more information.

Skullcandy Headphone Company Accused of Using Trap & Trace Fingerprinting Software

Skullcandy is a company that sells technology products, including headphones, earphones, and Bluetooth speakers marketed to a “youth” demographic, with an emphasis on use during videogaming, snowboarding, and skateboarding. These products are primarily sold in brick-and-mortar retail stores and via the company’s online store.

The legal complaint against Skullcandy alleges that the company’s website installed sophisticated software to de-anonymize website traffic, allowing social media behemoth TikTok access to personal information about otherwise anonymous site visitors. The trap and trace software allegedly runs on virtually every page of Skullcandy’s website, meaning that anyone who visited the site may have unknowingly been the victim of a digital privacy violation. More specifically, the Skullcandy trap and trace software relies on electronic impulses generated from website visitors’ devices. This is allegedly done by Skullcandy in concert with the social media platform TikTok to identify site visitors and gain valuable information about Skullcandy’s target market.

What Is a Trap & Trace Device?

According to California consumer protection law, a trap and trace device is any type of device or process capable of capturing incoming electronic impulses to identify the originating number, dialing, routing, addressing, or signaling information. In other words, it’s a device that can trace the source of an electronic communication. When a company uses one of these devices to obtain customer data without authorization, the act could constitute a very serious violation of California’s Trap and Trace Law and subject the company to fines and other statutory penalties.

Lawsuit: Skullcandy Customer Data Unlawfully Shared with TikTok

According to the class action lawsuit filed in L.A. Superior Court, the Skullcandy website uses software created by TikTok for the express purpose of identifying site visitors. This is accomplished through a process known as “fingerprinting,” which collects extensive data about otherwise anonymous website visitors. The personal information is then matched with existing records that TikTok has already acquired about the millions of Americans who use the popular social media platform. At the same time, TikTok adds the data to their accumulated data about user behavior.

Skullcandy Accused of Violating the California Invasion of Privacy Act

The California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) was enacted to curb the invasion of privacy resulting from use of certain technologies that pose “a serious threat to the free exercise of personal liberties.” The statute applies to the unlawful use of trap & trace software by companies doing business in California and imposes civil liability against businesses that use trap and trace software without first obtaining either direct permission from website visitors or legal permission from a judge via a court order.

According to the class action recently filed against Skullcandy in California court, the company’s trap and trace software begins to collect personal information the moment a user lands on the Skullcandy website. This is done despite the fact that the site features a “cookie banner” which ostensibly would prohibit Skullcandy from gathering customer data until the customer signs off on it. Instead, website visitor data has already been sent to TikTok before the visitor even has a chance to consent.

The personal information gathered by the TikTok trap & trace software includes the following:

Device and browser information.
Geographic information.
Referral tracking.
URL tracking.
Images of products the user is interested in.

You May Be Eligible to Join the California Trap & Trace Class Action Against Skullcandy

It is a major breach of trust, and violation of California consumer protection law, for a company to use trap and trace software to obtain a website visitor’s phone number or other identifying information. The class action lawsuit recently filed against Skullcandy alleges that the headphone company is collaborating with the Chinese government to obtain personal information from website visitors. Further, the lawsuit alleges that the company is doing this without informing site visitors.

A California resident who visited the Skullcandy website may be eligible to join the class action lawsuit and obtain monetary damages. That’s because California has tough consumer protection laws, and the statutory penalties for violations of Section 638.51 of the California Penal Code in particular are severe. Companies that unlawfully use a trap and trace device can be punished with a statutory penalty of $2,500 for each violation of the law.

Did You Visit the Skullcandy Website? Contact a Los Angeles Consumer Protection Lawyer

If you visited the Skullcandy website, it is possible that your confidential information was unlawfully collected and shared with third parties. The Los Angeles consumer protection attorneys at Tauler Smith LLP are representing plaintiffs in a class action against Skullcandy. Call 310-590-3927 or email us.