DETROIT (Legal Newsline) - A Michigan woman is suing Time Inc., alleging it sells subscriber information to data miners without subscribers' consent.
Carolyn Perlin, individually and for all others similarly situated, filed a class action lawsuit Feb. 19 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan against Time Inc., alleging unjust enrichment and violations of Michigan's Preservation of Personal Privacy Act.
The suit alleges Time, which publishes more than 90 magazines, supplements its sales and advertising revenues by selling subscribers' protected information, including full names, titles of magazines subscribed to, and home addresses, to data miners and other third party companies.
The suit further alleges Time trades subscribers' personal reading information with other data miners and aggregators to supplement customer files with other sensitive data about them, including age, income level, purchasing habits and other information.
The lawsuit states Time neither notifies subscribers, nor obtains their permission before disclosing their personal reading information to third parties.
Perlin and others in the class seek actual damages, disgorgement, injunctive and equitable relief, attorney fees and costs. They are represented by attorneys Ari J. Scharg and Benjamin S. Thomassen of Edelson PC in Chicago, and by attorney Henry M. Scharg of the Law Office of Henry M. Scharg in Detroit.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan Case number 2:16-CV-10635-MKM