Sony Electronics allowed Google, TikTok and Reddit to track shoppers who declined cookies, a new class action alleges.

On Oct. 30, 2026, Mario Margiotta and Kristen Kucera filed a class action lawsuit against Sony Electronics Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

The lawsuit claims Sony's online store sent visitors' browsing data to Google, TikTok and Reddit after those visitors declined all cookies.

Sony's cookie banner and the "decline all" option

Visitors to electronics.sony.com reportedly see a pop-up banner explaining that the site and its advertising and analytics partners use cookies to personalize the experience, serve ads and analyze traffic. The banner then lets them accept all cookies or decline all of them, according to the proposed class action. It claims that choosing 'decline all' led visitors to believe they would not experience third-party tracking.

Margiotta claims he clicked "decline all" on several visits to the Sony website while researching a wireless subwoofer. Kucera says she also clicked "decline all" while visiting the site. Both plaintiffs allege they would not have used the site, or would have used it differently, had Sony disclosed the tracking.

Which companies received the data?

The proposed class action asserts that code on Sony's website from Google, TikTok parent ByteDance and Reddit sent cookies and user data to those companies after visitors clicked "decline all." The plaintiffs contend the data included browsing history, device details and location, which the three companies use to build ad profiles and target ads on other sites.

Network logs in the filing reportedly show a test search for "yellow headphones" reaching TikTok and a cart addition of Sony earbuds sending the product name to Reddit.

Notice to Sony and an earlier arbitration

Margiotta and Kucera claim their lawyers alerted Sony to the tracking around Feb. 11, 2024, and that the company never told its users. Kucera first brought her claims in arbitration under the website's terms. In June 2025, she and Sony agreed she could pursue them in court instead.

The legal claims

The lawsuit brings five claims:


  • Invasion of privacy, which draws on the right to privacy in the California Constitution

  • Intrusion upon seclusion, which covers highly offensive intrusions into someone's private affairs

  • California Invasion of Privacy Act (Penal Code Section 631), the state wiretapping law, which allows $5,000 or three times a person's actual losses for each violation, whichever is more

  • Fraud, deceit and misrepresentation, which covers false statements that people rely on

  • Unjust enrichment, which applies when a company profits unfairly at someone else's expense

The lawsuit seeks money for affected users, any profits Sony made from the data, a court order to stop the alleged tracking and attorneys' fees.

What the lawsuit means for Sony shoppers

The proposed class covers anyone who browsed electronics.sony.com in the United Sttes after clicking "decline all" on the site's cookie banner. There is no settlement, no claims process and no money available at this time.