The Formula 1 VPPA settlement is a $5.5 million class action resolution in which Formula One Digital Media Limited agreed to pay F1 TV subscribers whose viewing data was allegedly shared with Meta and Salesforce without consent. The court granted final approval on October 17, 2025, payments of up to $17 per approved claim went out on January 12, 2026, and the claims process is now closed. The company did not admit liability.
What Subscribers Were Accused of Being Tracked For
The lawsuit targeted how Formula 1’s streaming platforms handled subscriber data when people watched pre-recorded videos. According to the complaint, embedded tracking tools on the F1 TV website and related apps sent personal information to two third parties while users watched.
Meta allegedly received data through its tracking pixel, including subscribers’ Facebook IDs, the titles and URLs of the videos they watched, IP addresses, and browser information. Salesforce allegedly received similar information through an integrated API, including email addresses and unique user IDs. The plaintiffs argued that pairing those identifiers with specific viewing histories let the third parties tie individual users to the exact content they consumed.
Who Was Covered by the Class
The settlement class included anyone in the United States who had a Formula 1 account, accessed Formula1.com, F1TV.formula1.com, or any Formula 1 application, and watched a pre-recorded video between May 1, 2022, and June 24, 2025. No proof of purchase was required to file a claim.
Excluded from the class were Formula One Digital Media’s officers and directors, the presiding judge and judicial staff, anyone who opted out, and anyone who had already filed a separate VPPA arbitration demand against the company.
How the $5.5 Million Was Divided
Formula One Digital Media agreed to pay $5.5 million into a common fund. The allocation broke down as follows:
- Up to $1,833,333.33 for attorney fees and expenses, or one-third of the fund.
- Up to $300,000 for settlement administration.
- Up to $2,500 each in service awards for the two named plaintiffs, Sergio Gutierrez and Esteban Palma, totaling $5,000.
- The remainder to eligible claimants, with each approved claim worth up to $17, subject to pro rata adjustment based on how many claims were filed.
Key Dates and Payment Status
The Circuit Court of Lake County, Illinois, in Gutierrez et al. v. Formula One Digital Media Ltd. (Case No. 2025LA00000329), granted preliminary approval on June 25, 2025. The Honorable Charles W. Smith presided.
The deadline for class members to file a claim, opt out, or object was September 22, 2025. A final approval hearing had been set for October 30, 2025, but was cancelled after the court granted final approval early, on October 17, 2025. Payments were issued to eligible class members on January 12, 2026. As of mid-2026, the claims process is closed and distribution is complete. If you did not file a claim before the September 22, 2025 deadline, no further payment is available from this settlement.
The Law Behind the Case
The claims were brought under the Video Privacy Protection Act, a 1988 federal law that bars video service providers from knowingly disclosing a consumer’s personally identifiable information and viewing history to third parties without the consumer’s informed, written consent. The statute was originally enacted to protect video rental records but has been applied by courts to modern streaming services. Under the VPPA, each unauthorized disclosure can carry statutory damages of $2,500 per violation.
The Formula 1 case is one of many similar actions filed in recent years against companies that embed Meta’s tracking pixel on pages containing video. Comparable settlements include AARP’s $12.5 million deal in September 2025, a $5 million resolution involving The Boston Globe, and a $2.6 million settlement with FloSports, whose filings noted that an adverse judgment could have pushed the company into bankruptcy.