People living in the US who have used or are using the app and want to know if they can claim the settlement or how to do so can check the full details here.
Gaia VPPA Class Action Settlement
The lawsuit against Gaia, the streaming service platform, alleges the defendant violated the Video Privacy Protection Act as they revealed the subscriber’s personally identifiable information to Facebook via Facebook Tracking Pixel to track or identify the video materials obtained or requested on the platform.
Defendants such practices violated the VPPA rules as they disclosed the account holders’ information without their consent. The lawsuit against Gaia began in 2020, the defendants have denied the allegations and any wrongdoings on their end but proposed to settle the case to resolve the case.
Now both the parties defendants, and plaintiffs agreed to settle the case through the $2 million settlement fund. The court preliminarily approved the settlement, and the settlement administrator sent the notice for the settlement and released the claim form. The class members who wish to submit their claim for the Gaia VPPA class action settlement should submit it before the deadline, 02 December 2024.
Gaia VPPA Class Action Settlement Important Dates
Class members of Gaia VPPA Class Action Settlement should mark the following dates to exercise their rights timely and not miss any opportunity:
| Gaia VPPA Class Action Settlement Activity | Dates |
| Claim Form Deadline | 02 Dec 2024 |
| Objection/ Exclusion from the Settlement Deadline | 24 Oct 2024 |
| Final Approval Hearing | 09 Dec 2024 at 12:00 PM PST |
Who will receive the Gaia VPPA Settlement?
Under the Gaia VPPA settlement, people who meet the following eligibility requirements are the class members of the settlement and can submit the claim form to receive the compensation:
- All US residents who subscribed or signed up for Gaia Services or obtained or requested any pre-recorded content on the Gaia app or websites (yogainternational.com and gaia.com) using the web browser where they had their FB account between the class period 12 September 2020 and 19 July 2024.
Exclusions:
- Any judge who is looking over this case or their immediate family members is excluded.
- The subsidiaries, successors, parent companies, or any entity in which the defendant has a controlling interest and the officers, agents, attorneys, directors, and employers are excluded from the settlement.
- People who choose to be excluded from the settlement and send the request before the deadline.
- The successor, legal representatives, or people assigned to the inheritance of the excluded person are excluded from the settlement.
How much will you receive under the Gaia VPPA Class Action Settlement?
As we have mentioned, the settlement fund of $2 million has the preliminary approval of the court, so the amount for the class members who have filed the claim will be settled from this fund. However, before the administrator processes the compensation distribution for valid claimants, the administrator will deduct some money from the fund, such as:
- Settlement Administration Expenses
- Taxes earnings due to the fund
- Attorney Fees and costs
- Service Award for the class representatives
- Other Court-approved deductions.
After the above expenses deductions from the gross settlement fund, the remaining fund will be used to compensate the Gaia VPPA settlement class members claimants from the remaining fund.
The payout per person depends on valid claims, settlement expenses deducted, and other factors, hence the exact payout per person can’t be determined before all the claims are sent.
Apart from the monetary relief, the defendant promises to suspend the Facebook Tracking Pixel operation on Gaia’s websites and they will have a URL to identify the viewed content unless the VPPA is invalid by the judicial decisions on its use of website pixel technology, repealed, amended to permit the released claims.
How to claim the Gaia VPPA Class Action Settlement payout?
The class member of Gaia VPPA settlement who wishes to file the claim and receive the monetary benefit can submit the claim form through the following ways:
- Online: The settlement website of the Gaia VPPA settlement has been released, the class members can visit https://gaiavppasettlement.com/ and click the “Submit Claim” option. You will have to enter your Notice ID and the confirmation code you received via the settlement notice and submit the claim form with your contact info, payment selection, and others.
- Offline by Mail: You can mail the claim form you received via the notice or download the claim form from the Gaia VPPA settlement website and mail the filled-out claim form to the following address:
- Gaia VPPA Settlement Administrator
- Attn: Claim Submissions,
- 1650 Arch Street, Suite 2210
- Philadelphia, PA
- 19103
When can you receive the Gaia VPPA Settlement Payout?
The fairness approval hearing for the Gaia VPPA class action settlement was scheduled for 09 December 2024. If the United District Court for the District Colorado approves the settlement, the valid claimants will receive the payment within 90 days of the approval of the settlement.
The payout date depends on the payment method you choose in the claim form, for instance, if you have selected the paper check, you may receive the payments in a month or two depending on your mailing service, whereas if you have chosen electronic payment method, you will receive the payment early may be in a week or two.
The Gaia VPPA settlement claim form is out, people in the US who meet the class member eligibility and wish to receive the payout from the $2 million settlement fund should file the claim before 02 December 2024.