Facebook Internet Tracking Class Action Lawsuits Mount Up

Facebook has been hit with yet another class action lawsuit claiming the social network illegally tracked user activity on the Internet.

The latest Facebook class action lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and accuses Facebook of continuing to ignore concerns that it uses “cookies” to track users’ Internet activity, even after they log out of Facebook.  

Facebook is already facing a slew of class action lawsuits in many other states. An order earlier this month by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation sent 11 federal lawsuits filed last year to a federal court in San Francisco. The lawsuits have been consolidated under the title “Facebook Internet Tracking Litigation.” The Judicial Panel denied Facebook attorneys’ request to call it “Facebook Cookies Litigation,” saying that “would imply an unduly restrictive scope on this litigation.”

Like the preceding lawsuits, the latest class action lawsuit accuses Facebook of violating the Federal Wire Tap Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and other laws. The lawsuit also claims Facebook’s actions are in violation of its own privacy policy, which says Facebook does not track post-log-out activity.  

“The days when online service providers can run roughshod over the privacy rights of their customers are over,” an attorney representing the latest Facebook class action lawsuit said in a statement. “Companies that operate commercial websites, such as Facebook, need to realize the public is increasingly concerned about its privacy rights. Perhaps even more importantly, there is a growing community of security experts and bloggers that is extremely savvy about internet technology and committed to ensuring that people’s privacy rights are respected and protected.”

 

In the past, Facebook has managed to escape several class action lawsuits accusing it of privacy violations. Many are hoping the latest round of lawsuits will finally hold Facebook accountable for its alleged conduct.