Facebook 'will fight' privacy lawsuit
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Five Facebook users filed a civil lawsuit yesterday alleging that the social networking site is violating California's privacy laws and misleading members about how their personal information is used.
The lawsuit, filed in Orange County Superior Court, asks for damages and attorney's fees and includes a request for a jury trial.
Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt declined to comment on the specifics of the lawsuit.
"We see no merit to this suit and we plan to fight it," he said in an emailed statement.
The complaint alleges that Facebook violates California privacy and online privacy laws by disseminating personal information posted by users to third parties.
The lawsuit also alleges that Facebook engages in data mining and harvesting without fully disclosing those practices to its members.
It was filed on behalf of several individuals, including a professional photographer, two children under age 13, a user of the original Facebook and a Los Angeles-based actress and model.
Privacy concerns have been a thorny issue for Facebook, which has grown to more than 200 million users.
The Palo Alto, California-based company announced earlier this year it was tweaking its privacy controls and giving users a hand in determining various policies after tens of thousands of members protested over who controls the information they share on the site.
The social networking site said in February it would allow users to review, comment and vote on changes to privacy, ownership and sharing before they are put into place.
And in late 2007, a tracking tool called "Beacon" caught Facebook caught users off-guard by broadcasting information about their activities at other websites, including their purchase of holiday gifts for those who could see the information. The company ultimately allowed users to turn Beacon off.
Calls and emails to the attorney representing the plaintiffs in the case were not returned.
Source: The New Zealand Herald
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments