Sarah Mirando  |  May 21, 2012

Category: Legal News

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest Class Action Settlement News!

Facebook Hit with $15 Billion User Tracking Class Action Lawsuit

By Sarah Pierce

 

FacebookWhile Facebook celebrated its successful IPO on Friday, a group of Facebook users slapped the social network with a $15 billion class action lawsuit over serious privacy violations.
The class action lawsuit combines 21 similar cases from across the U.S. that accuse Facebook of invading users’ privacy by tracking their movements online, even after they log out of their Facebook accounts.
“This is not just a damages action, but a groundbreaking digital-privacy rights case that could have wide and significant legal and business implications,” one of the Plaintiffs’ attorneys said in a statement.
The massive Facebook class action lawsuit alleges the company’s user tracking violates the U.S. Wiretap Act, which prohibits the “interception and disclosure of wire, oral or electronic communications.” Violations of the Wiretap Act provide statutory damages of $100 per violation per day, up to $10,000, per Facebook user — or $15 billion for Facebook’s more than 800 million users.
The new “super” Facebook privacy class action lawsuit is the result of a decision made by a California judicial panel last February to unify the multiple individual lawsuits into one case to be heard in Facebook’s home state. It is seeking to represent all U.S. residents who subscribed to Facebook from May 2010 to September 2011.
Facebook responded to the class action lawsuit announcement by calling it “without merit” and saying the company will “fight it vigorously.”
Facebook has a pretty good track record of defending itself against cookie-tracking lawsuits, with the majority of them getting tossed out of court. This is because browser cookies are not yet considered wiretaps and Plaintiffs have difficulty proving any harm.
However, the company did settle with the FTC in November 2011 over allegations it had “deceived consumers” by promising to keep their information private, then sharing it anyway. Under the settlement agreement, Facebook agreed to independent privacy audits over the next two decades.
Mashable.com reports that Facebook’s shares were set to trade on NASDAQ at $38 each last Friday, raising $16 billion and valuing the company at just over $104 billion total. The announcement of the $15 billion Facebook class action lawsuit on the same day as its IPO was no doubt carefully timed.
The case is In re: Facebook Internet Tracking Litigation, Case No. 5:12-md-02314-EJD, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Jose).

UPDATE: On Mar. 10, 2016, Facebook asked a federal judge to dismiss the privacy class actionlawsuit because the plaintiffs failed to show that they’ve actually been injured.

UPDATE: On June 10, 2016, Facebook vigorously defended its motion to dismiss a $15 billion MDL over its purported use of cookies to track users’ internet activities, saying the users amended complaint still fails to show economic harm.

We tell you about cash you can claim EVERY WEEK! Sign up for our free newsletter.


 

All class action and lawsuit news updates are listed in the Lawsuit News section of Top Class Actions

LEGAL INFORMATION IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE
Top Class Actions Legal Statement
©2008 – 2012 Top Class Actions® LLC
Various Trademarks held by their respective owners.

4 thoughts onFacebook Hit with $15 Billion User Tracking Class Action Lawsuit

  1. Barbara E Vazquez says:

    Case No. 5:12-MD-02314-EJD
    My Claim ID : FBM51016196
    Confirmation Code : 24Y99G3661av
    I have not received a check or any news. What is going on with this case ?
    Thank you in advance,
    Barbara Vazquez

  2. Top Class Actions says:

    UPDATE 2: On June 10, 2016, Facebook vigorously defended its motion to dismiss a $15 billion MDL over its purported use of cookies to track users’ internet activities, saying the users amended complaint still fails to show economic harm.

  3. Top Class Actions says:

    UPDATE: On Mar. 10, 2016, Facebook asked a federal judge to dismiss the privacy class action lawsuit because the plaintiffs failed to show that they’ve actually been injured.

  4. Anonymous says:

    Are there any class action suits against FaceBook for keeping personal information AFTER closing the account several years ago? After a “He is friends with Him” email from FaceBook, I have been swamped with ads from “affiliated” companies. I have filed a BBB complaint, but would truly love to be part of something that would cost them money for wasting my time to delete emails, and having to unsubscribe (not once per email, but twice) to each ad generated by FaceBook. The affiliated ad companies also refuse to respond to my inquiry of the “affiliated” company.
    Thank you for your time and assistance.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. By submitting your comment and contact information, you agree to receive marketing emails from Top Class Actions regarding this and/or similar lawsuits or settlements, and/or to be contacted by an attorney or law firm to discuss the details of your potential case at no charge to you if you qualify. Required fields are marked *

Please note: Top Class Actions is not a settlement administrator or law firm. Top Class Actions is a legal news source that reports on class action lawsuits, class action settlements, drug injury lawsuits and product liability lawsuits. Top Class Actions does not process claims and we cannot advise you on the status of any class action settlement claim. You must contact the settlement administrator or your attorney for any updates regarding your claim status, claim form or questions about when payments are expected to be mailed out.