Smart television company Vizio will be issuing notifications to its customers by way of pop-up ads informing them that they had been spied on and are entitled to join a class action lawsuit, according to a report.
Vizio was exposed by ProPublica in 2015 when it was revealed that the company had been spying on customers and collecting data to sell to advertisers.
“The secret ‘feature’ recorded what, when, and where its TV users were watching in order to sell their viewing habits data to advertisers,” explained Tom’s Guide. “Then, advertisers could use that data to ‘find you on your phone and other devices’ and target your with advertisements tailored to those habits.”
As part of a $2.2 million settlement with the FTC, Vizio reportedly agreed “to push a notice to all affected smart TVs alerting consumers of what happened and what are their rights to join the class action lawsuit on September 12.”
The notification, however, has been delayed, with court papers claiming, “The Parties are developing a class notice program with direct notification to the class through VIZIO Smart TV displays, which requires testing to make sure any TV notice can be properly displayed and functions as intended.”
“The additional time requested will allow the parties to confirm that the notice program proposed in the motion for preliminary approval is workable and satisfies applicable legal standards,” they alleged.