The lawsuit, filed on behalf of California resident Ed Penning, accuses the tech giant of violating the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), a law enacted in 1988 to protect individuals’ privacy in response to the public release of then-Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork's videotape rental records.

The complaint claims that sensitive user data, including Penning’s full name, gender, email address, precise location, and details about videos he watched on the Weather Channel website, was shared with third-party marketing firms without his consent.

It names mParticle, a customer analytics provider, and AppNexus/Xandr, an ad platform acquired by Microsoft in 2022, as recipients of this data.

In support of its allegations, Penning’s counsel cited a private research firm’s analysis of browser network traffic on the Weather Channel website, which reportedly confirmed the transmission of identifiable user information and viewing history to third-party firms.

The VPPA, under which the lawsuit was filed, strictly prohibits the sharing of personally identifiable information about users without their consent, particularly by video service providers.

The new lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal actions against IBM related to data sharing on its Weather Channel platforms. In 2019, the company faced similar accusations from a Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer, who alleged that the Weather Channel mobile app collected and distributed location data without notifying users.

That lawsuit was settled in 2020. A separate case in 2020 also targeted IBM’s data sharing practices on the Weather Channel and was resolved earlier this year.

Now aiming to be certified as a class action, the current lawsuit could expose IBM to significant financial penalties if successful. The VPPA allows plaintiffs to seek either actual damages or statutory damages of $2,500 per violation, along with attorney fees.