DocuClipper’s Post

Tech companies Google and Meta are each facing class-action lawsuits from taxpayers who say the companies collected sensitive information from them via special tracking pixels placed on filing websites. The suits come in the wake of reports that prominent tax filing solutions providers were leaking sensitive information to the companies through trackers. Such trackers, commonly used throughout the internet, are generally used to train algorithms as well as optimize direct marketing campaigns. These trackers were used to collect personal information ranging from only usernames and the last device used to actual financial data, including in some cases filing status, adjusted gross income and refund amounts. While names were obscured, the process used to do so can be easily reversed.

Taxpayers sue Google, Meta over privacy leaks! Tech companies Google and Meta are each facing class-action lawsuits from taxpayers who say the companies collected sensitive information from them via special tracking pixels placed on filing websites. The suits come in the wake of reports that prominent tax filing solutions providers were leaking sensitive information to the companies through trackers (see previous story). Such trackers, commonly used throughout the internet, are generally used to train algorithms as well as optimize direct marketing campaigns. These trackers were used to collect personal information ranging from only usernames and the last device used to actual financial data, including in some cases filing status, adjusted gross income and refund amounts. While names were obscured, the process used to do so can be easily reversed. #taxpayers #accounting https://lnkd.in/grySH9-Y?

The same trial attorney who won a nearly $90 million case against Monsanto Company just filed a lawsuit against H&R Block. The suit alleges that the tax preparation company collaborated with Meta and Google to embed “spyware” on its website to make money from scraped tax return data. In July, a congressional report documented that Meta and Google worked with H&R Block to place tracking pixels on the section of the tax preparation firm’s website where customers entered sensitive personal data. Tracking pixels are essentially small files that, when downloaded, help a site gather information about a visitor. In a prepared statement, Los Angeles-based R. Brent Wisner, who is filing the lawsuit under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) said, “Most people would never post their kids’ college account or their retirement savings on Facebook, but H&R Block did something just like that when they handed customer income tax information over to a bunch of advertisers.“ #rico #privacy #dataprivacy #fraud #personalinformation #taxes #corruption #tech #personaldata #data #lawsuit #legal #google #meta

The FTC, citing a US Senate report, directly warned five of the largest online tax preparation firms against sharing consumer data with online advertisers without consumer consent. It's worth noting that Google and Meta's protocols for filtering sensitive consumer data were deemed "ineffective" in the report. From the article: "'Tax prep firms were “stunningly careless” with customer data, the report said. Big Tech firms “also appeared to act with stunning disregard for taxpayer privacy — failing to provide full and complete information about how they would collect taxpayer data, and what they did — or are doing — with it once it was collected,” the report said. It noted that while both Meta and Google pointed to filtering systems they use to prevent sensitive taxpayer information from being collected by mistake, “these filtering systems appeared to be ineffective.'” #privacy #privacypros #privacylaw #adtech #martech #ftc #meta #google

A recent class-action lawsuit has sent shockwaves through the tech and finance sectors, accusing H&R Block, Google, and Meta of orchestrating a scheme to violate data privacy laws. The lawsuit alleges that these companies installed trackers on H&R Block’s website to collect and share tax data for targeted advertising. 🕵️♂️ What's Happening? According to the lawsuit, the companies are accused of participating in a "pattern of racketeering activity," a term typically reserved for organized crime. Trackers, referred to as "spy cams," were allegedly scanning sensitive tax information including names, filing status, and more. This data was anonymized and used not just for targeted ads but also to train Meta’s AI algorithms. 📜 Congressional Backing The lawsuit follows a damning Congressional report released earlier this year that criticized H&R Block and other tax preparation firms for “recklessly” sharing sensitive data without proper safeguards. 📊 The Role of Tech Giants Meta allegedly used its Pixel tracking service since at least 2015 to gather data, which would be activated when users logged into Meta-owned products like Facebook or Instagram. Google, through Google Analytics, allegedly collected sensitive information for its own use, though it claims the responsibility lies with site owners. ⚖️ Legal Implications The suit is seeking full refunds for U.S. taxpayers who used H&R Block’s services since the tracking began, plus punitive damages against the companies for their alleged illegal activities.

Could Your Tax Preparer Be Selling Your Data? The US Senate led an investigation into the sale of substantial taxpayers' personal information being sold to Meta, formerly known as FaceBook. The legislators' inquiry uncovered that TaxAct gathered a significantly larger amount of data than had been previously disclosed. Apart from the filing status of taxpayers, the Meta Pixel tool also gathered information such as the estimated refund amount, the names of dependents, and an approximation of federal tax owed. Furthermore, the Pixel tool shared complete names, email addresses, phone numbers, and physical addresses, as outlined in the report. H&R Block and TaxSlayer also disclosed a comprehensive list of data that the Meta Pixel collected, including details regarding dependents, specific types of income, and particular tax credits or deductions, according to the report. "While the United States does not yet have a comprehensive federal Data Privacy regulation such as Europe's General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"), there are U.S. state and federal rules regarding notification and consent that were clearly violated here, comments Daryl Crockett, CEO of Gray Owl Consulting and Chief Strategy Officer of ValidDatum. "Individuals and businesses should review their Tax Preparer's data privacy and disclosure documents carefully, opt-out whenever possible, and should not be afraid to ask questions. Educate yourself before you hand over your sensitive information," warns Daryl Crockett.

#HRBlock is being sued under the #RacketeerInfluencedAndCorruptOrganizationsAct for alleged collaboration with tech giants #Meta and #Google to embed #Spyware on the #Tax firm's website to profit from #ScrapedTaxReturnData #DOJ #RICO #Privacy #Allegedly #DataScraping #FinancialCrimes #HomelandSecurity #InformationSecurity

Not surprised by the below. We will continue to see lawsuits like these until a federal legislative structure comes out on the proper governance of data privacy and data use. Data warehousing, resale, and collection needs better oversight otherwise we will continue to see companies of all sized not held accountable for the governance of personal data.

The June 3 CIPA ruling (denying Google's motion to dismiss re use of Google Analytics on tax prep web properties) provides some interesting insight into CIPA consent, specifically: "Google first argues that plaintiffs consented to the tax sites’ use of Google Analytics. Google argues that terms of service and privacy policies of which the Court has taken judicial notice establish that plaintiffs consented to the use of Google Analytics. Although these documents suggest that plaintiffs could have consented to Google’s alleged data collection, plaintiffs specifically allege that they did not. The mere existence of various terms of service and privacy policies cannot establish at this stage, where the Court must draw all reasonable inferences in plaintiffs’ favor, that any of the plaintiffs did in fact consent. Google’s consent arguments do not provide a basis to dismiss the Section 631 claim." In other words, the mere existence of a terms of service and privacy policy is not enough; you have to be able to prove that the plaintiff users actually consented.

Perspective: Shannon Jemiolo, and Ian Redpath examine a recent Senate report detailing online tax return preparation companies’ sharing of taxpayer data with Meta Platforms, and they consider the key issues regarding the sharing of taxpayer data, including preparers’ professional responsibilities, taxpayer expectations of privacy, and the disclosures required to share data. ⬇️ Read for free: #Meta #facebook #taxpayerdata #taxtransparency #tax #taxes #federaltax #ethics #taxethics #taxreturn #free #freeread