Steven B. Roosa is a partner in our
New York office and Kaylee A. Cox is an associate in our
Washington, D.C office.
On Friday, October 14, 2016, plaintiffs filed a privacy-focused,
putative class action complaint against a National Football League (NFL)
team, a mobile app company, and an audio-beacon technology
company, alleging violations of the Electronic Communications
Privacy Act (ECPA). Specifically, plaintiffs contend that the NFL
team's mobile app surreptitiously records end-users'
conversations to enable its beacon technologies.
According to the complaint, the app determines users'
precise location by leveraging microphones that are built into
smartphone devices and by listening for nearby audio beacons. These
audio beacons are, in turn, used to deliver targeted advertisements
to the end-user.
