Facebook Settles With Online Advertiser To End Targeted Ad Class Action

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Facebook Targeted Advertising Class Action Lawsuit Overview: 

• Who: Facebook agreed to a settlement with online advertiser IntegrityMessageBoards.com.
• Why: The settlement resolves claims that Facebook misrepresented its targeted advertising system by displaying ads to unintended users.
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court.

Facebook has agreed to a settlement with an online advertiser who claimed the company falsely promised to only display ads to its targeted audience. 

The settlement will end a proposed class action brought against the social networking giant with the case now dismissed without prejudice, according to an order filed on Jan. 28. 

Details of the provisional settlement between Facebook and the advertiser, IntegrityMessageBoards.com, were not made available. 

“If any party certifies to the court within 60 days that the settlement has not been finalized, this order shall stand vacated and this case shall be restored to the calendar to be set for trial,” the order states. “If no certification is filed, after passage of 60 days, the dismissal shall be with prejudice.”

IntegrityMessageBoards.com filed the class action lawsuit against Facebook in August 2018, arguing the company would display advertisements to users that were not part of its identified target market and that it had paid for, Law360 reports. 

Facebook Allegedly Reneges On Promise To Only Display Ads To Intended Audience

Facebook promised it would only display ads to its intended audience, the advertiser claimed, while arguing this would also harm regular consumers who relied on Facebook to be honest. 

IntegrityMessageBoards.com claimed it spent $1,400 on advertising campaigns meant to promote its Facebook page; however, it argued that 40% of the likes it received came from users it was not targeting, Law360 reports.  

Class certification was previously denied in August by a federal judge while a subsequent appeal to the Ninth Circuit had currently been pending prior to the settlement announcement. 

Claims involving targeted advertising were lobbied against Google in January by the attorneys general from four states and the District of Columbia who claim the company continues to track and store its users’ location data even after they have disabled tracking.

The attorneys general claim Google uses this data to create targeted advertising campaigns. 

Have you paid for advertising on Facebook that was later shown to an unintended audience? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiffs are represented by Joshua Elazar Fruchter of Wohl & Fruchter LLP, Jordan L. Lurie and Ari Y. Basser of Pomerantz LLP, and Steven F. Molo, Caleb Hayes-Deats, Leonid Grinberg, Lauren F. Dayton, and Megan Cunniff Church of MoloLamken LLP.

The Facebook Targeted Advertising Class Action Lawsuit is IntegrityMessageBoards.com v. Facebook, Inc., Case No. 4:18-cv-05286, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

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• Meta Concealed Its Harmful Inner-Workings of Facebook, Falsely Touted Commitment To Good, Says Class Action
• Investors File Class Action Lawsuit Against Meta After Research Shows Instagram Harms Mental Health of Teenagers
• Facebook Cries Foul On FTC’s Bid To Nix Dismissal Of Antitrust Lawsuit