Costco has allegedly handed customers’ private information over to Facebook parent Meta without their consent, according to a lawsuit filed in Seattle federal court.
Court documents obtained by The Post allege that Costco installed Meta’s analytical tool, Meta Pixel, on its website.
The tech tracks website visitors and activities, and thus gives Meta access to customers’ personal data as well as pharmacy users’ “highly personal health information.”
The code is designed to help businesses track the effectiveness of their advertising, according to Meta’s Help Center, though it’s unclear why Costco would need to use the technology in the health care portion of its website, where customers can order or refill prescriptions.
The lawsuit, which was earlier reported on by The Seattle Times, claims that Meta gained access to prescription, treatment and health insurance data, as well as patients’ location.
Such personal data “has become a highly-desirable commodity,” the suit claims.
“Indeed, one of the world’s most valuable resources is the exchange of personal data,” the plaintiffs added, arguing that “Meta would be able to monetize that private information” by, for example, selling advertising to insurance companies.
The court documents — which were filed by four California residents who said they shared sensitive information with Costco — said that the company “represents to patients that its website, which includes its pharmacy webpages, is a secure platform and that the information provided therein will remain protected and confidential.”
“Yet, Costco fails to disclose or omits the fact that it shares patient online activities and health information with Meta via Pixel,” the suit added.
Therefore, the lawsuit claims, the Issaquah, Wash.-based membership retailer invaded users’ privacy and violated privacy laws in Washington State that protect against sharing user data without consent.
It’s unclear how many users Costco has on its website, though the company reportedly did over $10 billion in e-commerce sales in 2022.
The plaintiffs demanded a trial by jury to settle the dispute, as well as an award of financial damages, including restitution, and a declaration that Costco’s conduct was unlawful, according to the suit.
Meta isn’t named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs also filed a summons in Washington federal court on Friday that gives Costco 21 days to respond to the lawsuit.
A spokesperson for Meta said that the Mark Zuckerberg-owned company has “been clear in our policies that advertisers should not send sensitive information about people through our Business Tools.”
“Doing so is against our policies and we educate advertisers on properly setting up Business tools to prevent this from occurring. Our system is designed to filter out potentially sensitive data it is able to detect,” the spokesperson added.
Representatives for Costco did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The Post has also sought comment from the plaintiff’s attorneys at law firms Tousley Brain Stephens and Zimmerman Reed.
