A Washington court recently dismissed with prejudice putative class action claims against Seattle Children’s Hospital asserting that use of third-party tracking technology on its website constituted wiretapping and other privacy law violations.

A group of parents had filed suit against Seattle Children’s Hospital (“Seattle Children’s” or “SCH”), including claims under the Washington Privacy Act, Washington Consumer Protection Act, Washington Uniform Health Care Information Act, invasion of privacy, breach of implied contract, conversion, and unjust enrichment. Plaintiffs based these claims on allegations that a third-party pixel Seattle Children’s had deployed on its website had intercepted and disclosed patients’ personal health information.

Seattle Children’s argued that the claims should be dismissed for a number of reasons, including that by using the SCH website and accepting the terms of its Privacy Policy, plaintiffs had consented to the sharing of anonymous data; that any identifying information had been placed on plaintiffs’ browsers by a third party—not SCH—with plaintiffs’ consent; and that the plaintiffs’ factual allegations described sensitive interactions that could only occur on its patient portal site, which does not use any tracking technologies. The court dismissed all claims with prejudice but did not explain the grounds for doing so in its order.