Consent scans of enterprise websites often reveal hundreds of issues: undeclared pixels, SDKs, unauthorized data flows, missing opt-outs, and more. The volume can be overwhelming, and prioritization becomes difficult. But not all consent violations carry equal risk. Understanding the top consent compliance risks helps legal and privacy leaders prioritize where it matters most.
Regulators and plaintiffs’ attorneys in the U.S. are drawing clear lines around what matters most. Recent enforcement actions and litigation show a consistent pattern: certain violations are far more likely to result in fines, lawsuits, or reputational damage.
At Sentinel Insights, we help companies separate signal from noise. Our monitoring doesn’t just detect consent issues. It maps them to real-world enforcement priorities. Based on the latest enforcement data through September 2025, here are 11 privacy themes that carry the highest operational and legal risk.
1. Session-Replay, Chat Widgets, and “Wiretap” Liability
Courts continue to scrutinize how companies record website sessions and enable chat features. Several class actions have survived dismissal under laws like CIPA and WESCA. Sentinel detects session-replay scripts and monitors how they collect data in relation to user consent.
- High-Risk Pattern: Pixels triggering on first page load without opt-in.
- Enforcement Snapshot: Lawsuits such as Javier v. Assurance IQ and Popa v. Harriet Carter Gifts show courts are treating these claims seriously. Several ongoing cases are moving toward class certification.
2. Health Data Shared via Pixels or SDKs
The FTC has made clear that collecting and sharing health-related data for advertising, particularly through pixels on patient-facing pages, can violate HIPAA, the FTC Act, and the Health Breach Notification Rule (HBNR). Compliance requires ensuring that any third-party tracking on health-related pages only occurs with valid user consent.
- High-Risk Pattern: Meta or Google pixels firing on pages mentioning conditions, symptoms, or reproductive health.
- Enforcement Snapshot: GoodRx ($1.5M), BetterHelp ($7.8M), Easy Healthcare, and Cerebral were all subject to FTC enforcement for ad-related data sharing.
3. Children’s Privacy (COPPA Violations)
Sites and apps that target children face strict consent obligations under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Sentinel Insights monitors site metadata, tag behavior, and declared audiences to highlight conditions that may indicate heightened risk for child-directed content and improper third-party tracking.
- High-Risk Pattern: Adtech pixels present on gaming, education, or kid-directed content without verified age gating.
- Enforcement Snapshot: Epic Games ($520M, including COPPA), YouTube ($170M), Amazon Alexa ($25M), and Disney ($10M) have all settled COPPA claims.
4. Location Data and Data Broker Activity
State attorneys general and the FTC are targeting the sale of sensitive geolocation data. Sentinel monitors whether GPS, IP-based, or behavioral location data is shared with third parties, especially brokers and ad platforms.
- High-Risk Pattern: Location-based SDKs active before user consent.
- Enforcement Snapshot: Google ($391.5M multistate settlement). Kochava, X-Mode, and InMarket remain subject to FTC orders or litigation.
5. Failure to Honor GPC, UOOM, and OOPS Signals
Under the CCPA/CPRA and state laws such as the Colorado Privacy Act, failure to honor browser-level opt-out signals, including Global Privacy Control (GPC), Universal Opt-Out Mechanisms (UOOM), and Opt-Out Preference Signals (OOPS), is enforceable. Sentinel Insights monitors for these signals and validates whether enforcement is technically applied.
- High-Risk Pattern: An opt-out signal (such as GPC, UOOM, or OOPS) is received, but data sales or sharing continue via programmatic tags.
- Enforcement Snapshot: California AG v. Sephora resulted in a $1.2M settlement over failure to honor GPC. Colorado and Connecticut are actively enforcing similar requirements, with OOPS obligations now part of state privacy enforcement.
6. Pixels on Video Pages (VPPA Risk)
The Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) has become a favored tool for plaintiffs targeting streaming and media companies. Sentinel Insights detects when identifiers are passed via pixels on video player pages without prior consent.
- High-Risk Pattern: Meta or TikTok pixels sending viewing data on load.
- Enforcement Snapshot: Formula 1 ($5.5M), Bleacher Report ($4.8M), and GameStop ($4.5M) have all settled VPPA claims since 2024.
7. Sharing Browser or App Activity Without Disclosure
The FTC has prohibited companies from selling or sharing browsing and app usage data without clear consent. Sentinel Insights monitors real-user activity to surface unexpected data-sharing events that may indicate hidden risks.
- High-Risk Pattern: Undeclared sharing of browsing data via analytics SDKs.
- Enforcement Snapshot: Avast ($16.5M) was banned from selling browsing data. X-Mode faced similar restrictions.
8. Biometric Data and Inferred Identifiers
Face, voice, and fingerprint data are protected under laws like BIPA. Best-in-class monitoring can detect biometric scripts, such as facial recognition SDKs or voice interaction APIs, and flag when they are triggered without user consent.
- High-Risk Pattern: AR lenses or audio APIs loading before consent.
- Enforcement Snapshot: Meta and Google paid over $2.7B combined in Texas for biometric violations. Snapchat ($35M) and TikTok ($92M) also settled BIPA claims.
9. Facial Recognition in Retail Contexts
The misuse of biometric surveillance in retail spaces is drawing increasing regulatory attention. Monitoring systems should identify when websites attempt to access device cameras or when biometric SDKs are present in ecommerce or loyalty applications.
- High-Risk Pattern: Face-based authentication enabled without a consent step.
- Enforcement Snapshot: Rite Aid received a five-year ban from using facial recognition; Clearview AI faced restrictions in the U.S. and Canada.
10. Retail Match Programs and Offline Purchase Data Sharing
Using purchase data for matched ad campaigns, such as Meta’s Offline Conversions API, without clear consent has already triggered enforcement in Canada and drawn scrutiny in the United States. Monitoring should assess whether purchase data is being shared with ad platforms in ways that reflect user choices.
- High-Risk Pattern: Email or phone data hashed and sent to ad networks post-purchase without opt-in.
- Enforcement Snapshot: Home Depot (Canada) and Tim Hortons were sanctioned for sharing purchase and location data without consent.
11. Misleading Privacy Disclosures
The FTC is targeting companies whose public privacy commitments do not match their actual practices. Best-in-class monitoring compares real tag behavior against declared policies to surface potential misrepresentation.
- High-Risk Pattern: A privacy notice claims “no data sharing,” while pixels transmit personally identifiable information.
- Enforcement Snapshot: Twitter paid $150M for misusing 2FA information. Facebook paid $5B and accepted a 20-year order. Zoom settled claims related to misleading encryption practices.
Prioritizing Consent Compliance Where It Matters Most
Effective consent compliance risk management means focusing on the risks regulators and courts are actively pursuing. Sentinel Insights is built not only to detect consent violations, but to contextualize them against real-world enforcement trends.
Our platform is informed by ongoing litigation and regulatory actions, giving legal and privacy leaders the evidence they need to act with confidence.
When consent compliance risk is in question, Sentinel Insights helps enterprises focus on the issues that matter most… before regulators or plaintiffs do.
