Coursera, Udemy, and the $10M+ Video Privacy Battle: Class Action Update
Discover the costly legal fallout and class action developments for these online learning giants as they grapple with alleged video privacy violations.
Last year, I covered the unfolding privacy drama involving Coursera, Udemy, and the now privately-held 2U. Around 50,000 claimants were reportedly involved in these privacy lawsuits.
These online learning giants found themselves caught in class action lawsuits over the use of Meta Pixel, which allegedly shared user video viewing data without consent, violating the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA).
Since my last update, Coursera and Udemy have released their 2024 annual reports (10-Ks), giving us a fresh look at where things stand. As expected, 2U/edX hasn’t provided new public information since they went private post-bankruptcy.
Coursera’s Costly Legal Battles Explained
Coursera faced two distinct legal challenges regarding VPPA violations. First, a class action lawsuit filed in November 2023 (Ghazizadeh v. Coursera) was dismissed without Coursera paying any money. This case ended with both sides agreeing to drop their claims entirely.
However, the bigger financial impact came from numerous individual arbitration claims that alleged similar privacy violations.
Coursera settled many of these individual claims in October 2024 for $4.75 million (fully covered by insurance). An additional settlement with most of the remaining arbitration claimants was reached in January 2025 for $4.52 million. Coursera has also incurred $1.47 million in legal fees during 2024.
Here’s a simplified breakdown of Coursera’s VPPA-related costs:
| Description | Cost (USD millions) |
| Settled claims (October 2024) | $4.75 (insured) |
| Additional settlement (January 2025) | $4.52 |
| Legal fees (2024) | $1.47 |
| Total (excluding insured amount) | $10.74 |
Overall these lawsuits have cost excess of $10 million, though Coursera was able to recover $4.75M through insurance.
Coursera continues to dispute these claims and intends to defend itself vigorously, although it remains uncertain if insurance will cover any further costs.
Udemy’s Update
Udemy’s situation appears more stable compared to late last year. Previously, they faced a class action (moved to arbitration) and threats of individual arbitration from about 20,000 users, having settled with roughly 6,000 for what they termed an “immaterial amount.”
Based on the latest report, there haven’t been substantial changes announced regarding the number of claimants or settlement costs since the last update.
The Bigger Picture: VPPA & Meta Pixel
Just to recap, these lawsuits revolve around the 1988 Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA). It was originally meant to protect video rental records but is now being applied to online video viewing. The argument is that using tools like the Meta Pixel to track which videos users watch and sharing that data (even anonymized or aggregated) violates the VPPA if explicit user consent isn’t obtained first.
Many industries beyond education, including news media (like the Boston Globe case I mentioned previously) and healthcare, have faced similar lawsuits. It highlights the ongoing tension between utilizing modern marketing and analytics tools and adhering to privacy laws, some of which were written long before these technologies existed.
