Canadian Carriers Sued for Privacy Breach

Last week, Bell Mobility and Virgin Mobile Canada were hit with a class action lawsuit for violating the privacy of their customers by collecting data and selling it to third-party advertisers without notifying customers. The lawsuit is in the $750 million ($612 million USD) range. According to the brief, the lawsuit involves a Relevant Ads Program (RAP) which Bell Mobility announced on November 16, 2013. This program tracked Bell Mobility and Virgin Mobile customers’ account and network usage information including sites they visited and then sold that information to advertisers. According to the suit, customers were not initially given the opportunity to opt-out of the program, and all customers were automatically included. Since the announcement of the lawsuit, Bell Mobility has announced that it has ceased the program. Prepaid and postpaid customers who had an account with a data plan on Virgin Mobile Canada or Bell Mobility from November 16, 2013 and April 13, 2015 should fill out this questionnaire to determine whether or not they are entitled to any compensation for this privacy breach. For more information about the privacy breach, actions taken or your rights, visit this website.]]>