Tracking pixel lawsuits: what they claim companies shared and where each case stands

A tracking pixel is a tiny, usually invisible bit of code that a company adds to its website, app or emails. When a page loads or a button is clicked, the code can send details about that visit, such as which pages were viewed or what was typed into a form, to the company that made the pixel. Advertising and analytics firms, including Meta and Google, offer these tools.

Companies use pixels mainly to measure how well their ads work, to understand how people use their sites, and to show targeted ads later. The Federal Trade Commission explains in its report on the hidden impacts of pixel tracking that pixels can collect a wide range of personal information, sometimes without people knowing it is happening.

Health information draws special attention. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published guidance on online tracking technologies under HIPAA, the federal law that protects certain medical information, describing when hospitals and health providers may not share patient data with tracking companies. A federal court later limited part of that guidance, so how far it reaches is still being worked out.

The lawsuits here make different claims. Some, like the Sutter Health privacy lawsuit, say patient information was shared from health websites. Others rely on state privacy laws or the Video Privacy Protection Act, a federal law that limits sharing records of what videos a person watched. These are allegations, and the companies may dispute them.