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AMC Settles Class Action Lawsuit Regarding AMC+, HIDIVE, Other Services' Violations of Privacy Law

AMC Networks have agreed to settle a class action lawsuit regarding a violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act with a payout of US$8.3 million to the plaintiffs. The company has not admitted to any wrongdoing, but the lawsuit claims that the company's streaming services utilized Meta Pixel tracking to record user activity and share it with third parties without their consent.

Consumers who used the AMC+, Shudder, Acorn TV, ALLBLK, SundanceNow, and/or HIDIVE services on an online website, mobile app, or streaming service controlled by AMC between January 18, 2021 and January 10, 2024 are eligible to receive a share of the settlement fund. Eligible users must submit a claim form by May 16.

AMC Networks acquired Sentai Holdings, LLC, which includes Sentai Filmworks and the HIDIVE streaming service, in January 2022. The acquisition includes all of the member interests from Cool Japan Fund, Inc., a public-private Japanese investment fund. Sentai Filmworks is a global supplier of anime and official merchandise. The company's brands include the HIDIVE streaming service, SentaiFilmworks.com, Anime Network cable video-on-demand, and Sentai Studios. Sentai Filmworks has licensed numerous anime, including Made in Abyss, Akame ga KILL!, Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma, and Parasyte -the maxim-.

AMC Networks' portfolio includes AMC+, Acorn TV, Shudder, Sundance Now, and ALLBLK.

In 2020, Crunchyroll entered into a "home video and electronic sell-through distribution" partnership with Sentai Filmworks to distribute anime titles on home video, which "appear as a mix of subtitled and English-dubbed content." Salvador Beltran, Jr., Eli Gross, and others filed a class action lawsuit against Sony Pictures Entertainment and Crunchyroll in September 2022. The class action lawsuit alleged that Crunchyroll violated the United States' Video Privacy Protection Act by disclosing subscribers' personally identifiable information to Facebook and other third-party companies. Sony Pictures Entertainment and Crunchyroll denied the claim, but decided to settle "to avoid the uncertainties and expenses associated with continuing the case." The parties reached a settlement on September 15 making Crunchyroll users in the United States eligible for payment of approximately US$30.

Source: Top Class Actions