Consumer viewing data is sold linked to detailed personal demographics, not anonymized aggregates

Evidence

Vizio then turned that mountain of data into cash by selling consumers’ viewing histories to advertisers and others. And let’s be clear: We’re not talking about summary information about national viewing trends. According to the complaint, Vizio got personal. The company provided consumers’ IP addresses to data aggregators, who then matched the address with an individual consumer or household. Vizio’s contracts with third parties prohibited the re-identification of consumers and households by name, but allowed a host of other personal details—for example, sex, age, income, marital status, household size, education, and home ownership. — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 826

Categorization

• XREF: Extends the behavioral surplus mechanism from earlier chapters — connecting raw data capture to monetization via third-party matching. Also connects to the reader’s broader platform/surveillance corpus. — connects to: Location and phone-sensor data reveal individuals and moods even when anonymized — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 766
• SHARE: Would interest anyone working on data privacy law practice — the Vizio consent order is a concrete example of individualized viewing data treated as sensitive personal information.

Broader Connections

• Location and phone-sensor data reveal individuals and moods even when anonymized #corroborates (0.75) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 766