Facebook Class Action Over Minors in Ads Moves to CA

Facebook won a small victory in court last last month when a federal judge granted its request to transfer a class action lawsuit from Illinois to California, where Facebook is headquartered.

The Facebook class action lawsuit was filed in June 2011 by the parents of two teenagers, who claimed the social network misappropriated their minor children’s names and likenesses for commercial purposes without consent.

The parents claimed in the class action lawsuit that Facebook improperly advertised what the teens “liked,” turning them into endorsers of particular brands or companies by sharing that information and their likeness with their friends. The parents argued this violates various Illinois state laws that prohibit children from giving Facebook permission to use their names and pictures in advertisements.

Facebook asked to transfer the case to California, citing a clause in its terms of service that says all litigation must be settled in the Northern District of California.

The parents’ attorneys argued that moving the Facebook class action lawsuit to California would inconvenience their clients and needlessly increase the cost of litigation. However, U.S. District Judge G. Patrick Murphy ruled in favor of Facebook, saying:

“In this instance, as noted, persons wishing to join facebook.com must attest that they have read Facebook’s TOS [terms of service], which are made available through a hyperlink,” Murphy wrote. “Also, Facebook’s TOS are hyperlinked on every page accessed by a facebook.com user in underlined, blue text that contrasts with the white background of the hyperlink. Accordingly, the court concludes that plaintiffs were reasonably put on notice of Facebook’s TOS. … Whether or not plaintiffs actually read Facebook’s TOS is irrelevant, of course, to the matter of the conspicuousness of the TOS and thus plaintiffs’ constructive knowledge of the TOS, and plaintiffs are bound by Facebook’s TOS whether plaintiffs read them or not.”

The decision of whether or not to certify the Facebook class action lawsuit will now be handled in Northern District of California, as well as consideration for Facebook’s motion to dismiss the case.