Kim Kardashian's SKIMS Lawsuit Over Alleged Use Of Spyware Settled
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Kim Kardashian's legal drama with a SKIMS customer is finally over!
According to legal documents obtained by The Blast, the "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" alum and the displeased fan have settled the alleged invasion of privacy lawsuit.
Kim Kardashian Settles SKIMS Lawsuit
Earlier in January, Kardashian's shapewear company was accused of using spyware to monitor the activities of its website users.
A California customer, Miltita Casillas, made the allegations, claiming the brand had "inflicted both an economic injury and an intangible injury."
However, she changed her tune three months later, and the new legal documents noted that she had settled her differences with the SKIMS company.
It is unclear if the parties concluded the case with monetary compensation, but the filing stressed that the settlement was unconditional.
Thanks to their agreement, the lawsuit against Kardashian's brand will be dismissed within 45 days after the settlement date — April 5, 2024. No further trial is scheduled; however, there will be a case management conference on May 6 at 8:30 am.
Inside The Alleged Invasion Of Privacy Lawsuit
As stated, Kardashian's SKIMS company was accused of violating the privacy of its customers by a female user from California. The plaintiff described herself as "a consumer privacy advocate who works as a tester."
In her lawsuit, she accused SKIMS of secretly accessing her device after she visited the website in 2023. She claimed the shapewear brand was monetizing its knowledge of visitors' activities, allegedly obtained through tracking software.
The alleged tracking devices included "pen register" and/or "trap and trace" spyware, usually known as "PR/TT Spyware." The documents read:
"Defendant has embedded at least one PR/TT beacon on its website to capture electronic impulses originating from the site to identify the source of the communication, including the identity and geolocation of every website visitor."
It continued: "The PR/TT beacon on Defendant's website deploys numerous signaling mechanisms to trap and trace its users; it monitors users' activity (such as page views, searches, or purchases), de-codes the device used by each website visitor, and helps identify the location, race, age, and ethnicity of each user."
SKIMS Alleged Actions Compared To Mark Zuckerberg's Infamous Lawsuit
The aggrieved SKIMS customer noted that she believed the shapewear brand "generates a minimum of eight percent of revenues from its website," which she claimed was aided by the invasion of its customers' privacy.
Additionally, she believed her case had merit because "privacy of personal information is and has always been a legally protected interest in many contexts."
Therefore, SKIMS' alleged invasion of privacy had "inflicted both an economic injury and an intangible injury."
The customer also compared the brand's alleged use of spyware to Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook in its Internet Tracking Litigation class action lawsuit.
At the time, Kardashian had not responded to the lawsuit, but it is important to note that she wasn't sued alongside SKIMS.
Not Kim Kardashian's First Rodeo
As a billionaire mogul, Kardashian has faced several ups and downs in her business ventures. In 2018, she was accused of exploiting another cosmetic brand with her KKW makeup line.
Danish makeup artist Kirsten Kjaer Weis slammed the reality TV star in a heated lawsuit, claiming she had ripped off her international KW Cosmetics.
She accused Kardashian of deliberately infringing on her trademark, which she believed was intended to dupe customers and screw with her bottom line.
However, the socialite refuted these claims, stressing that she is a "world-famous television celebrity" and did not intend to deceive the public when she branded her line with her initials. In her words:
"Considering Kardashian's fame and access to over 100 million social media followers, no rational inference can be drawn that she would need or want to trick the public into associating her products with Kjaer Weis in order to gain exposure or traction."
The SKIMS Founder Once Fought Against Blac Chyna
A year after her KKW makeup line drama, the reality TV star and her famous family were embroiled in a legal dispute with Blac Chyna. At the time, the latter accused the Karjenner clan of interfering with her "Rob & Chyna" show.
She sued her former lover, Rob Kardashian, and his family for getting the reality TV program canceled, which she claimed cost her a lot of money. However, the socialites denied the allegations and stressed that they had nothing against Chyna.
Nonetheless, a judge ordered Kim, her mother, Kris Jenner, and her sisters — Khloè Kardashian and Kylie Jenner — to sit for depositions in the case. This meant that Chyna would grill the family about whether or not they interfered with her reality show.
