Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
PayPal Honeya free browser extension that aggregates and applies coupons for shoppers ecommerce sites, was hit with a class action suit by the creators for allegedly manipulating affiliate links.
As reported by Dextertoattorney Devin Stone, who LegalEagle YouTube account has nearly 3.5 million followers, filed the lawsuit, which includes a request for an injunction to stop PayPal Honey’s business practices.
A PayPal spokesperson said the company disputes the allegations and will vigorously defend itself.
According to Dexerto, online investigator MegaLag lights the fuse with a YouTube videos published on December 22, in which it accuses PayPal Honey of replacing the affiliate codes of creators with its own. As a result, PayPal Honey was able to take credit for purchases — and pocket the corresponding affiliate fees — that would otherwise go to those creators.
MegaLag also accused PayPal Honey of working with companies to control the coupons users saw, meaning they didn’t necessarily have access to the best deal.
Creators and influencers often promote products and services to their followers and earn commissions through affiliate programs, which track the links they share to give them credit for purchases made on their behalf. Creators then earn a fee for driving those purchases.
According to LegalEagle, if these allegations are true, it means that PayPal Honey is taking credit for the work that creators have done to promote products and drive purchases from their followers.
“Think about how insidious all of this was,” Stone said in a YouTube videos detailing the case. “Honey has spent tens of millions of dollars, maybe even hundreds of millions of dollars, sponsoring some of the most beloved and successful creators on the planet. Honey presumably seeded those audiences with its reach. And that reach probably stood on their audience browsers like a sleeping leech, waiting for the viewer to make a transaction.”
He continued, “Forever after, the creator’s future sponsorships and future affiliate and advertising relationships have been devalued now that the creator’s audience has been infected. The exact people who would be most likely to listen to that creator’s advice – which, by the way, is the reason why it is so important to vet their sponsors and make sure they believe in the products – they were now probably sniped.
