The Golden State Warriors are one of three defendants named in a lawsuit claiming the NBA team’s app secretly records private conversations.
The lawsuit was filed last week in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco. The two other defendants are Pennsylvania-based Yinzcam Inc. — the app’s developer — and Signal360, which licenses the beacon technology in question.
Plaintiff Latisha Satchell, a New York state resident, claims that the defendants programmed the app to turn on her smartphone’s microphone and listen in without her knowledge or consent.
“Specifically, because plaintiff carried her smartphone to locations where she would have private conversations and the app was continuously running on her phone, defendants app listened in to private oral communications,” Satchell’s attorneys wrote in the complaint.
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Satchell claims the new beacon technology in the app tracks users wherever they are.
“Even more disconcerting, the app turns on the microphone (listening and recording) any time the app is running,” the complaint reads. “No matter if a consumer is actively using the app or if it is merely running in the background: the app is listening.”
Satchell claims the usage of the app is in violation of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.
The Warriors have declined comment, citing its policy on pending litigation. Yinzcam, which lists a number of professional and college teams as clients on its website, has not commented on the lawsuit.
In a statement to the San Jose Mercury News, Signal360 COO Lauren Cooley denied the allegations.
“We have been made aware of the suit and it appears there is a misunderstanding about how our technology works,” Cooley wrote. “Our technology does not intercept, store, transmit, or otherwise use any oral content for marketing purposes or for any other purpose.”
Golden State launched the beacon technology in its app in 2014. The Warriors are viewed as one of the leaders in technological advances for fans’ gameday experiences at sporting events. The video screen at the Warriors’ Oracle Arena features a live Twitter feed, and fans can be rewarded for in-game Facebook check-ins, SportTechie.com reported.
