Pepsi Sued for Installing Website Cookies That Users Rejected

Frito-Lay North America Inc. and PepsiCo Inc. violated California privacy laws by allowing third parties to track users’ online activities through cookies even after users rejected such tracking, according to a class complaint filed in federal court.

Lead plaintiff Mary Brown claims the defendants’ websites—including doritos.com, lays.com, and gatorade.com—placed third-party cookies on users’ devices without consent, even if they reject such tracking via a banner that purports to allow them to reject nonessential cookies.

The illicitly placed cookies allow companies like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Snapchat to intercept and collect users’ private browsing data and communications on Defendants’ websites, the ...