Walmart and Sam’s Club customers may be in line for a slice of a $388,815 restitution fund after Los Angeles County accused the retailers of letting tracking tools collect and share personal and purchase information without consent. The deal covers people who visited Walmart’s website between January 1, 2020, and May 20, 2024, but the fine print on who gets what remains thin. The bigger story is that shopping data can follow you long after the cart is closed.
Los Angeles County announced the pre-litigation settlement Monday, according to The Independent. The agreement resolves consumer-protection claims before a lawsuit was filed, with allegations centered on third-party tools, including Meta pixels, that can send browsing and purchase signals to advertising companies.
Walmart will pay about $908,815 in total, covering customer restitution, civil penalties and attorneys’ fees. The settlement’s eligibility description is based on website visits rather than a Los Angeles County address. Still, the available details do not specify individual payment amounts, a claim deadline, or how customers should file. In other words, this is a potential fund—not a promise that every Walmart shopper will receive a check.
Walmart said it was pleased to resolve the matter. Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis said personal information should not be treated as “a product for corporations to exploit.” In contrast, Consumer and Business Affairs Director Rafael Carbajal said the agreement sends a message that businesses will be held accountable, The Independent reported.
California’s Privacy Rules Put Data Sharing Under A Microscope
California residents already have the right to learn how businesses use their information, request deletion in many circumstances and opt out of the sale or sharing of personal data, according to the California Privacy Protection Agency. Walmart’s current privacy notice also directs California customers to its privacy-choice tools and explains how they can submit requests involving their information.
The Walmart agreement arrives as California officials increasingly target the quiet machinery behind digital advertising. In May, the state attorney general announced a $12.75 million settlement with General Motors over allegations that OnStar data, including driving and location information, was sold to data brokers; Hoodline previously covered the county’s GM privacy crackdown.
What Shoppers Should Know Before Chasing The Money
The Walmart settlement bars the companies from sharing customers’ personal information without consent and requires compliance with California consumer-protection and privacy laws. Because the deal was reached before a lawsuit, it is not a court verdict finding Walmart or Sam’s Club liable for the allegations.
The amount any eligible customer receives will be determined through the restitution process, and no official claim portal or deadline was identified in the announcement available Tuesday. Until those details are published by Los Angeles County or a named settlement administrator, shoppers should be wary of unsolicited messages requesting bank information, passwords or Social Security numbers.
