Influencers’ Commission Hijacking Suits Have Rocky Legal Road

March 12, 2025, 9:30 AM UTC

Social media content creators—including a golden doodle, a video essayist, and a fashion blogger—accusing PayPal Inc. and others of cutting into their affiliate marketing commissions are likely to have a hard time convincing the courts that the practice is illegal.

Influencers have filed a wave of lawsuits over browser extensions like PayPal’s Honey that they say “steal” last-click attributions when their followers use their link to purchase something online.

The online marketing practice credits a sale to a customer’s last digital touch-point before making a purchase.

Yet e-commerce scholars are skeptical the content creators can show the ...

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