Penalty Amount
$566,200
PulsePoint circumvented Safari browser privacy settings to place unauthorized cookies, enabling targeted advertising without user consent. The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs secured a $1 million settlement, including a $566,200 civil penalty, and mandated privacy reforms such as third-party assessments and website disclosures.
PulsePoint must pay $566,200 in civil penalties, $33,800 for State costs, $150,000 for privacy programs, and provide $250,000 in in-kind advertising. It must implement privacy controls, undergo annual third-party privacy assessments for five years, disclose data collection practices on its website, and maintain systems to expire pre-settlement cookies.
In-house legal teams should review all vendor and customer agreements where PulsePoint (or similar ad tech entities) is a data processor or recipient, particularly those involving digital advertising, analytics, or data sharing. Focus on clauses governing data collection methods, consent requirements (especially for cookies and tracking), compliance with browser privacy signals (e.g., Do Not Track), and data security obligations. Given the settlement's mandate for third-party privacy assessments and enhanced website disclosures, contracts may need amendments to include audit rights, specific technical compliance warranties, and obligations to provide clear, accessible consumer control mechanisms (opt-out/restriction instructions). Data processing agreements (DPAs) should be updated to reflect these enhanced standards and ensure flow-down requirements to sub-processors.
Entity
PulsePoint
Industry
AdvertisingOfficial Press Release
https://www.njoag.gov/new-jersey-division-of-consumer-affairs-obtains-million-dollar-settlement-with-online-advertising-company-accused-of-overriding-consumers-privacy-settings-without-consent/
New Jersey Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://www.njoag.gov/about/divisions-and-offices/division-of-consumer-affairs/
"PulsePoint, based in New York City"
"$566,200 civil penalty"
"New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act"
"placed unauthorized “cookies” – small packages of data – on Apple, Inc.’s Safari web browsers, even though the users’ privacy settings were set to specifically block cookies from third-party advertisers."
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$400.0M
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