Exercise bike maker Peloton Interactive Inc. is facing a class action lawsuit alleging that AI-powered marketing company Drift processed chat data between Peloton users and company representatives without the user’s permission.
According to Malwarebytes Labs, Peloton has been accused of violating the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA). While Drift is the defendant in the lawsuit, the lawsuit itself is against Peloton.
Users’ chat data comes from Peloton’s website’s chat feature that allows current or potential customers to ask questions. According to the complaint, users were not informed that Drift was recording and analyzing the chat content.
“The issue at stake is whether or not Peloton sought permission from affected users before transmitting their information to Drift,” said Malwarebytes Labs“While Peloton has the right to view the content of the chat as it is part of the conversation, the real issue is the transmission of this information to Drift.”
Drift focuses on personalizing communication at every stage of the buying process, storing and analyzing customer chat data to further personalize its AI.
This is not the first AI-related legal case. In 2023, Samsung Electronics employees Company information leaked via ChatGPThighlighting the risks of using machine learning and large language models in the workplace when the shared data ultimately becomes training data for these machines.
While it’s unclear which way the court will rule regarding Peloton and Drift, the lawsuit is likely to have a negative impact on the companies as resistance to capturing user data for AI training continues.
