The web site of toy retailer Toys ‘R’ Us has been sued in a San Fransisco federal court for violating its own privacy policy by supplying customer data to marketing companies.

The class action lawsuit claims that Toysrus.com “has implemented a sophisticated and covert scheme to wrongfully intercept, transmit, record and compile” personal information.

The privacy policy on the web site describes the sharing of data “with trusted service providers who provide specific services and/or administer activities offered at our site”. The policy describes the company’s use of accumulated information, that it will not be used to identify an individual and that the company does not “sell or rent personally identifiable information.”

The personal information is allegedly being transmitted directly to a market research firm, Coremetrics using cookies and encrypted messages sent when users make a purchase from Toysrus.com or its subsidiary Babiesrus.com.

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