Pioneer social media network Facebook Inc. (FB) has been sued again over security of user data, this time round, the tech guru is being accused of breaching user data privacy laws by tracking internet activities of users even after they have long logged out of Facebook.
The lawsuit filed in a Federal court in San Francisco, revived a nationwide uproar against the social networks operator. The federal court said Facebook users are at will to pursue multiple claims under the federal and California wiretappings laws.
Responding on the issue though its spokesperson, the company ruled out the lawsuit claiming it lacks basis and it’s without merit, Facebook assured it will take any measures possible to continue defending itself.
FB Selling Data to Advertisers
According to the lawsuit Facebook is being accused of storing cookies on users’ browsers, thereafter, they use the data to track websites containing the like button visited even long after they had already logged out.
After getting the data on websites visited by user, Facebook allegedly sells this browsing data history to advertisers.
This is not the first time such an allegation has been filled, back in 2017, U.S. District Judge Edward Davila, California dismissed a similar case citing lack of a legal standing to pursue damage claims by users.
Nonetheless, Chief Judge Sidney Thomas is convinced the latest lawsuit holds waters therefore he wrote for a panel comprising of three judges suggesting the lawsuit has sufficient proof that privacy of user date had been indeed breached.
“Facebook’s user profiles would allegedly reveal an individual’s likes, dislikes, interests, and habits over a significant amount of time, without affording users meaningful opportunity to control or prevent the unauthorized exploration of their private lives,” wrote Thomas.
FB Sues Asian Man for Selling Illegal Ad Tools
Coincidentally, when Facebook was being sued it was also suing someone on the other hand. FB filled for a lawsuit suing Bangkok-based Indian man, whom they claim has developed and is marketing software that is able to avoid Facebook’s advertising review process hence allowing prohibited ads on the social media network.
The man known as Basant Gajjar, is said to have used a ‘cloaking’ technique which hides the true content of the ad in the surface, however, when the ad opens it displays something different.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. district court in the Northern District of California, San Francisco division.
Facebook claims using this illegal advertising technique, rogue advertisers have been able to push fraudulent links including cryptocurrency scams, deceptive diet pills and even pass misinformation about Coronavirus.
