Putative Class Alleges Porno Websites Used Covert ‘History Sniffing’ to Collect User Data

Pornography websites covertly engaged in so-called “history sniffing” to “intentionally and knowingly” collect visitor personal data without their consent, according to a putative class complaint filed Dec. 3 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (Pitner v. Midstream Media Int’l NV).

The complaint charged that the defendant, Netherlands-based Midstream Media International, operated several websites that used history sniffing to access visitors’ web browsing history by exploiting vulnerabilities in JavaScript language and disguised their efforts through the use of cryptography.

The complaint explained:

By embedding JavaScript code on its website designed to present Plaintiffs’ web ...