A class action lawsuit has been filed against Toyota over allegations that the "reject" button on its US website's tracking consent pop-up is non-functional.
According to reports, the website Toyota.com is accused of continuing to collect and track user browsing data even after users click the button to explicitly refuse tracking.
It is reported that the website employs "browser fingerprinting" technology. This technique does not rely on cookies but instead creates a unique identifier by combining multiple data points such as device model, browser configuration, screen resolution, fonts, and installed plugins, enabling persistent identification and tracking of users.
The proposed class action has been submitted to the Los Angeles County Superior Court. The case cites the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA). Enacted in 1967, this law was initially aimed at combating telephone wiretapping and illegal eavesdropping, but in recent years, lawyers have increasingly applied it to internet privacy lawsuits, arguing that a website collecting user data without consent similarly constitutes illegal eavesdropping or interception of communications.
The lawsuit was initiated by Brittany Conner. In the complaint, she alleges that "Toyota presents a cookie consent pop-up but does not genuinely respect the user's choice, rendering the 'reject' button a mere formality and misleading users' reasonable expectations for privacy protection."
Reports further indicate that in 2025 alone, over 800 lawsuits based on CIPA have been filed in the United States, and Toyota is not the only major corporation affected by such litigation. Earlier this year, Forbes Media reached a $10 million settlement over similar tracking allegations, and the Los Angeles Times paid $3.85 million to resolve a comparable lawsuit.
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