Ubisoft is facing another lawsuit alleging that it illegally shared Ubisoft Store customers' data with Meta

Ubisoft, as if it didn't already have enough to worry about is now facing a possible class action lawsuit alleging that it illegally shared personally identifiable data about Ubisoft Store customers with Meta.

The Ubisoft Store may not be as big as Steam, but people still use it. Ubisoft+, a game subscription service, is not Game Pass. However, its continued existence means that some people pay monthly fees to gain access. Both require the same information, such as your name, address and credit card number.

According to the lawsuit, (available in full on CourtListener), the problem is that Ubisoft uses Pixel, which Meta describes "as a piece of code that you can place on your website to help you better understand your advertising and the actions that people take on your site like visiting a particular page or adding a product to their cart." Simple: anything you do while logged in to Facebook on the Ubisoft site is tracked and used for "retargeting," a process that aims to convince people who have already purchased your products to buy more .

It may seem a little dystopian but it's business as usual today. Anyone who doesn't think their data is being sifted through with a fine-tooth comb and fed to the gaping maws of the Capitalism Machine hasn't been paying attention. This particular implementation of consumer monitoring is illegal, according to the suit, because it exposes personal information "to anyone of ordinary technical skills who received those data" and does so without disclosing it in advance.

The suit claims that this is a violation of Video Privacy Protection Act and Federal Wiretap Act as well as the California Invasion of Privacy Act. Plaintiffs Trevor Lakes, Alex Rajjoub, who both purchased multiple games at the Ubisoft Store, "individually and on behalf of others similarly situated," are seeking financial damages, along with an order compelling Ubisoft either to get rid of Pixel, or to obtain consent from their users to share their data.

It's a long way off before anything happens--the lawsuit is still awaiting certification as a class action, for example--but I'm sure that given Ubisofts current struggles, it's not terribly welcome news. After "softer than expected sales" of Star Wars Outlaws, and a last minute delay of Assassin's Creed Shadows the company is pulling all the stops - including a full-scale re-entry to Steam - to right its ship and get the share price pointed in a vaguely positive direction again. Ubisoft’s founding Guillemots are also said to be in talks with Tencent, a major investor that could lead to the company being taken private.

Ubisoft has declined to comment on this lawsuit.