Student loan and college scholarship providers disclosing private applicant data to Big Tech: Who’s affected?
Do you have a Facebook or Instagram account? Have you applied for a student loan or college scholarship via a website within the last two years?
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, as well as Microsoft, TikTok, Google, and other major tech companies, are under scrutiny for their practice of collecting the private information of people who used student loan and college scholarship provider websites to apply for a loan or scholarship. These student loan and college scholarship providers collect an applicant’s private data through bits of code known as “pixels,” which are embedded in the websites. Pixels allow websites to track visitor activity including clicks, page views, keystrokes, and other actions, and often share the users’ sensitive information, including information about finances and other private information. These companies profit from sensitive information by using it to sell advertisements relating to your information.
Consumers who have an online account with a student loan or college scholarship provider and have used its website to apply for a loan or scholarship may have had their private information unlawfully shared without their consent in violation of privacy laws.
Do you qualify?
You may qualify for this data sharing class action lawsuit investigation if you have a Facebook, Instagram, Microsoft, Google, or TikTok account and used a student loan provider or college scholarship website to apply for a loan or scholarship within the last two years.
Fill out the form on this page for more information.
What are pixel trackers?
A pixel is a bit of code that is inserted into a website to record information about visitors, including the actions they take on the website. A website may contain multiple pixel trackers, each one corresponding to and sending information to a different company.
The most common pixel is the Meta Pixel, a JavaScript snippet that collects and shares user activity with Meta. The plugin can then be used to customize advertisements and other features. According to Facebook’s 2018 response to a congressional questioning, there were 2.2 million Pixels installed on websites across the internet.
Information gathered through Meta Pixels is then linked to active Facebook accounts. This may result in the unlawful sharing of sensitive information, including financial and other sensitive data protected by law.
TikTok, Google, Microsoft, and other big tech companies have their own pixels that are nearly identical in function to the Meta pixel. Each of these pixels tracks and shares the activities of website users. As a result, each of these companies potentially collects sensitive information from users of student loan and college scholarship provider websites.
Which student loan providers shared health data with Facebook and other tech giants?
We have identified several student loan and college scholarship provider websites using pixels, including the Meta Pixel, to capture private information provided in connection with a student loan or college scholarship application. For example, the websites of Scholarship America, Sallie Mae, and College Ave each have Meta Pixels that capture and share sensitive information throughout the application process. If you have used one of these websites, or another student loan or college scholarship provider website, your private information may have been unlawfully collected and shared with Meta, TikTok, Google, and/or Microsoft.
Join a pixel student loan and college scholarship data sharing class action lawsuit investigation
If you have a Facebook, Instagram, Microsoft, Google, or TikTok account and used a student loan or college scholarship provider website within the last two years, you may qualify to participate in this data sharing class action lawsuit investigation.
Fill out the form on this page for a FREE case evaluation.