Facebook Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Data-Sharing Partnerships

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A class action lawsuit says Facebook misleads users about data security, leading them to believe they can control who accesses their data, when in reality, the company sells consumer data to third parties.

Plaintiff Velma Serina Rankins says that she made a Facebook profile on or around January 2008, and over time, included personal information on the profile including relationship status, job history, as well as religious and political affiliation on the profile.

Rankins alleges that Facebook shared this data with more than 60 third-party mobile device makers like Apple, Amazon and Samsung, profiting unjustly from the sale of this information.

According to the Facebook class action lawsuit, for the majority of her time using Facebook, the company did not notify Rankins that the company would sell her data. In fact, Rankins says Facebook misled her into believing she had control over who had access to her information.

The plaintiff claims that Facebook makes a widespread practice of sharing user data without a consumer’s knowledge or consent, and that this issue affects millions of Facebook users worldwide.

Rankins seeks damages on behalf of herself and all similarly affected Facebook users in the U.S. who made Facebook accounts between Aug. 30, 2014 and April 19, 2018.

The Facebook data-sharing class action lawsuit is requesting an injunction that would bar Facebook from continuing data-sharing partnerships with device makers, and barring Facebook from sharing user data with third-party device makers in the future.

Rankins says that Facebook offers users options that let them determine how much information is accessible to other users, and how much information is accessible to their network of “friends” on Facebook.

The plaintiff claims that these features function to convince users that they have control over how their personal information is shared, when really, they do not have this control.

The Facebook information sharing class action lawsuit says that these profile controls function only as “front door” controls, when the majority of how a user’s information is shared is not able to be dictated by the user, and is shared though what Rankins calls “backdoor data-sharing partnerships between Facebook and device makers.”

The social media data class action lawsuit goes on to argue that not only did Facebook not inform users of their practice of sharing data with device users, but says that the company actively represented to its users that the company would not share user data with third parties.

To support this claim, the Facebook data class action lawsuit cites Facebook’s own statement to consumers saying that users “own all of the content and information [they] post on Facebook.”

Additionally, Facebook allegedly used to tell users specifically in its data use policy that the company would not share consumer data without user consent.

Rankins cites a Nov. 15, 2013 version of the data use policy that informed users that “…we don’t share information we receive about you with others unless we have: received your permission; given you notice, such as by telling you about it in this policy; or removed you name and any other personally identifying information from it.”

The Facebook class action claims that in 2018, Facebook did reveal to users that it was selling user data, but before that, sold user data without user consent, while specifically leading consumers to believe that they had control over how their data was shared.

The plaintiff argues that the company knowingly misled users for years about how their data was used.

Rankins is represented by Sabita J. Soneji, Annick Persinger and Tanya Koshy of Tyco & Zavareei LLP.

The Facebook Data Partnerships Class Action Lawsuit is Velma Serina Rankins v. Facebook Inc., Case No. 3:18-cv-05350, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.