A group of influencers has filed a lawsuit against Capital One, alleging that its shopping browser extension misappropriated affiliate marketing commissions.
Two content creators, Jesika Brodiski and Peter Hayward, filed a class-action lawsuit in a Virginia court on Jan. 6. They claim that Capital One’s Shopping browser extension harmed their affiliate marketing commissions by taking credit for driving sales, Business Insider reports. The influencers, who promote products on social media, allege that Capital One’s Shopping browser extension is designed to “systematically appropriate commissions that belong to influencers.”
However, Capital One denies the claims and looks forward to pleading its case in court.
“We disagree with the premise of the complaint and look forward to defending ourselves in court,” a Capital One spokesperson said.
The Capital One Shopping browser extension is a free tool that finds discount codes and compares prices at approximately 30,000 online retailers. Users are able to earn rewards redeemable for gift cards when they make purchases through its merchant partners.
The influencers’ lawsuit claims that Capital One Shopping “stole credit” by replacing creators’ affiliate marketing browser cookies with its own. Cookies are small data files stored on a user’s device that enable companies to track browsing activity. Brodiski and Hayward accuse Capital One Shopping of taking credit for sales and conversions they believe were originally derived from affiliate-marketing links they shared to social media.
Brodiski alleges that Capital One removed her affiliate marketing cookie and replaced it with its own when she shared product links for Walmart.com on social media. According to the lawsuit, Brodiski earned approximately $20,000 through affiliate marketing in 2024, but her income was negatively impacted by Capital One Shopping’s actions.
The lawsuit claims Brodiski and Hayward “face future harm in the form of stolen referral fees and sales commissions because the Capital One Shopping browser extension continues to steal affiliate marketing commissions with each passing day.”
The plaintiffs are requesting a jury trial. If the case is certified as a class action, other influencers may be able to join the lawsuit.
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