We have covered a prominent Pennsylvania area law firm that led the way in the Grammarly privacy lawsuit. Now we’ve seen these ads showcased below appear for visitors on social media to join the next lawsuit against IGN. ScourtYourCase.com is one of many new legal tech platforms sprouting up making it easier for law firms to attract plaintiffs and come after corporations for data privacy violations. As we’ve said time and time again you need to implement software from Captain Compliance to protect your business from these very expensive class actions.
Below is the ad promoted on Instagram to California residents about alleged privacy violations against IGN that reads as follows:
If you are a California resident who follows gaming news, your Instagram feed has likely become a legal battlefield. Targeted ads from ScoutYourCase.com are popping up with urgent headlines: “Think you qualify? Check today!” or “Take action before it’s too late!” These ads aren’t spam; they are the entry point into a high-stakes, multi-million dollar legal strategy targeting IGN Entertainment. Behind the curtain is Bryson Harris Suciu & DeMay PLLC, a law firm that has spent the last year perfecting a technique known as “Mass Arbitration.” We’ve covered the high profile lawsuit for alleged privacy violations against Grammarly that Bryson Harris has spearheaded and we have also covered big name privacy lawsuits handled by other firms that have led to multi-million dollar class action lawsuits.
The Digital Gold Rush of 2026: Why Law Firms are “Scouting” Your IGN Browsing History
So what do the ads say? “IGN has long been the go-to place for gamers and entertainment fans. But for many Californians who visited the site, the experience may have come with an unwelcome side effect: their browsing activity could have been tracked and shared – all in the shadows. Investiagations suggest IGN.com deployed hidden tracking tools that monitored how users browsed, whcih articles or pages they visited, and how they moved around the site – all without giving clear notice or seeking consent. If you visted IGN.com from California you might be eligible to take action – and seek compensation for what could be an unlawful invasion of privacy.”
So whats happening now is Invasion of privacy lawsuits are popping up for using session replay technology and this article breaks down the mechanics of the “Scout Your Case” funnel.
I. The Legal Battlefield: Why IGN?
The investigation into IGN focuses on how the site monitors users. In 2025 and early 2026, California became the premier venue for these cases due to its unique “bounty” style privacy laws.
1. The Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA)
A cornerstone of this investigation is the Video Privacy Protection Act. While originally passed in 1988 to protect VHS rental records, it has been repurposed for the digital age.
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The Allegation: IGN allegedly used a tracking API (specifically Piano.io) to transmit users’ email addresses alongside the titles and URLs of every video they watched.
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The Legal “Hook”: If you are a “subscriber” (meaning you have an IGN account) and you watch a video, the firm argues that IGN is a “video tape service provider” sharing your private viewing habits without your explicit, standalone consent.
2. The California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA)
CIPA is a 1960s-era anti-wiretapping law. Law firms now argue that modern tracking pixels (like the Meta Pixel) and session-replay scripts (which record your mouse movements) are “digital wiretaps.”
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The Interception: When you visit IGN, these scripts allegedly “intercept” your communication with the website and send a copy to a third party (like an advertiser) in real-time.
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The Statutory Penalty: CIPA allows for damages of up to $5,000 per violation. For a site with millions of monthly visitors like IGN, the potential liability is astronomical.
II. Anatomy of a Legal Funnel: ScoutYourCase.com
ScoutYourCase.com is not a news site or a consumer advocacy group. It is a “lead generation” portal owned by Scout Marketing LLC, designed to feed potential plaintiffs to Bryson Harris Suciu & DeMay and one of many growing legal tech companies that are making plaintiffs attorneys jobs easier to file these cases in mass and recruit plaintiffs for class actions if a site is not properly protected and using Captain Compliance’s software.
Additional ads on Instagram say that this ad is sponsored by Bryson Harris Suciu & DeMay PLLC:
The “Conversion” Process:
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The Hook: Instagram ads target users based on interests like “Gaming,” “IGN,” or “PlayStation,” ensuring they reach people who have likely visited the site.
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The Gamified Quiz: The site features a “30-second to qualify” quiz. These questions are designed to be “Yes-Ladders.” By getting you to say “Yes” to simple facts (e.g., “Do you live in California?”), they increase your psychological commitment to finish the form.
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The Invisible Retainer: The most critical step occurs at the end of the quiz. When you submit your phone number and email, you are often electronically signing a Retainer Agreement. This legally establishes an attorney-client relationship, allowing the firm to file a claim in your name immediately.
III. The Power Player: Bryson Harris Suciu & DeMay PLLC
Headquartered in Raleigh, NC, and launched by veteran litigators from the North Carolina Advocates for Justice (NCAJ), this firm is a titan in the “Mass Arbitration” space.
What is Mass Arbitration?
Most websites have a “Terms of Service” that forbids you from suing them in a traditional court. Instead, you must go to Private Arbitration.
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The Company’s Own Trap: In arbitration, the company (IGN) is usually required to pay the administrative filing fees for every case. These fees can range from $1,500 to $3,000 per person.
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The Leverage: If Bryson Harris signs up 10,000 IGN users through ScoutYourCase.com, IGN could face a $20 million bill just for the right to defend themselves.
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The Result: Most companies choose to settle for a lump sum rather than pay the massive upfront filing fees.
The Firm’s Track Record
Bryson Harris isn’t just targeting IGN. In late 2025, they were involved in massive settlements and investigations involving:
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Grammarly: For allegedly tracking sensitive text inputs.
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NordVPN: For “deceptive” auto-renewal practices.
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Meta: For “eavesdropping” on confidential health communications via the Meta Pixel.
IV. The 2026 Legal “Cliff”
Why are you seeing so many of these ads right now? It’s because the window is closing.
Throughout 2025, the California legislature debated Senate Bill 690, which aimed to strip these “wiretapping” claims of their power by defining routine website tracking as legal. While the bill stalled in late 2025, it is expected to resurface in 2027.
Furthermore, some California judges began dismissing CIPA cases in early 2026, ruling that sharing an IP address or a click-path is “normal internet behavior” rather than a criminal wiretap. Law firms are rushing to sign up as many clients as possible before a definitive ruling or new law shuts down the strategy entirely.
V. Should You Participate?
If you’ve used IGN in California, you are essentially a “stock” in this legal trade. Here is the reality of joining:
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The Payout: If a settlement is reached, individual users typically receive between $50 and $500.
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The Lawyer’s Cut: Bryson Harris typically works on a 40% contingency fee. If they get you $500, they keep $200.
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The Risk: There is no financial risk to you (the firm pays all costs), but you are sharing your data with a marketing-heavy law firm that will likely target you for future lawsuits against other websites and we do not condone these suits but rather point out these facts so we can protect businesses from these expensive lawsuits.
Is This Scout Your Case’s First Privacy Outeach?
The campaign on ScoutYourCase.com is a sophisticated legal machine. It leverages outdated laws to force modern tech companies into expensive settlements. While the ads feel like “scams,” they represent a very real—and very lucrative—corner of the 2026 legal economy.
Reddit threads have shown that they have been at this for years running these ads. One Redditor asking:
“I just got an Instagram ad about a mass arbitration case for D&D Beyond users living in CA and I’m struggling to figure out if it’s real. I wasn’t able to find too much more info about the advertiser themselves, Scout Your Case, or any news about the potential case. Anyone heard anything about this? Is this legitimately a thing or just an incredibly targeted phishing scam or something?”
So if you’re a business running session replay technology and cookies you should get a free privacy audit right now to understand your risks.
