Digital Toy Product Company Ducks Data Breach Class Action

For the second time, an Illinois federal judge powered down a proposed class action against VTech Electronics following a 2015 data breach of its internet-connected digital learning toys. The data breach also triggered separate allegations by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that VTech violated federal children's privacy laws.

Both developments illustrate the increasing exposure that the Internet of Things brings when consumer product manufacturers collect and store consumers' personal data with connected devices. They also demonstrate how the need to address these issues upfront is imperative.

VTech Toy Data Breach Class Claims Dismissed Again

In In re VTech Data Breach Litigation, Case No. 1:15-cv-10889 (N.D. Ill. 2018), Plaintiffs sought to represent a class of consumers who purchased VTech's digital learning devices. Their claims arose after a hacker lifted personally identifiable information affecting 4.8 million adult accounts and 6.3 million child