The analytics firm comScore is facing a new lawsuit filed by a law firm in Chicago which alleges that the company used “sinister and shocking” methods to collect its data.
The class-action lawsuit, filed by Edelson McGuire on behalf of at least two plaintiffs, accuses comScore of violating the following US laws:
• Stored Communications Act
• Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
• Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Act
• Electronic Communications Privacy Act
The complaint states:
“Namely, comScore has developed highly intrusive and robust data collection software known by such names as RelevantKnowledge, OpinionSpy, Premier Opinion, OpinionSquare, PermissionResearch, and MarketScore… to surreptitiously siphon exorbitant amounts of sensitive and personal data from consumers’ computers,”
“Through subsidiaries bearing innocuous names, comScore uses deceitful tactics to disseminate its software and thereby gain constant monitoring access to millions of hapless consumers’ computers and networks.”
Representatives from comScore responded to these allegations by saying that the case was without merit and was also “full of factual inaccuracies”. The analytics firm, as one of the largest online tracking companies in the US, no doubt also has the backing of professional indemnity insurance to fight these claims.