Instagram Class Action Lawsuit Accuses App of Monitoring User Data

An Instagram user has filed a class action lawsuit accusing the app of violating privacy laws by monitoring users’ smartphone data without permission.

In her class action lawsuit filed in federal court in California this week, plaintiff Brittany Conditi maintains that Instagram constantly accesses users’ smartphone cameras while the app is open, not only while it is being used to take a photo or video. 

Conditi says she uses the app regularly, “including during intimate moments in private places” such as her bedroom.

“Without her consent,” the class action lawsuit says, “Instagram secretly accessed Plaintiff’s smartphone camera and monitored Plaintiff — beyond the scope of any of the services that Instagram provides and while the Instagram camera feature was not in use — including in the privacy of her own home.”

Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, is a popular photo- and video-sharing platform with about 1 billion active users per year, the complaint says. The app accesses users’ smartphone cameras “for the limited purpose” of posting content directly to their Instagram account.

According to the class action lawsuit, Instagram claims the app only accesses smartphone cameras with the user’s permission. However, this is reportedly not the case.

Conditi maintains Instagram is constantly accessing users’ cameras while the app is open and monitors their smartphone data without permission.

The class action lawsuit claims Instagram has “no legitimate reason” for accessing smartphone data in this manner and in doing so has violated privacy laws, monitoring users’ intimate moments and collecting insight and market research.

“By obtaining extremely private and intimate personal data on their users, including in the privacy of their own homes, Defendants are able to increase their advertising revenue by targeting users more than ever before,” the class action lawsuit says. 

For example, the plaintiff claims that Instagram can see in real time how users respond to ads.

According to Business Insider, users noticed in July that a green FaceTime symbol — the one that indicates the phone’s camera is on — would appear as they scrolled through their Instagram feed.

Facebook has denied the app spied on users and blamed a bug for triggering “false notifications” that Instagram was accessing iPhone cameras, Bloomberg reported. Facebook said it was correcting the glitch.

Instagram and Facebook have a long history of consumer complaints when it comes to the monitoring of smartphone data and violating privacy laws.

The class action lawsuit outlines multiple instances of the companies’ breaches of privacy since Facebook’s 2004 launch.

Among those examples are the 2007 launch of “Facebook Beacon,” in which users were unaware their activity was being tracked and the privacy settings did not allow them to opt out. The feature was eventually shut down.

In 2009, Facebook modified its Terms of Service to allow the platform to use anything a user uploaded “for any purpose at any time,” even if the user stopped using Facebook. That update to the site’s terms also failed to provide a way for users to completely delete their Facebook accounts.

And in 2015, it was revealed Cambridge Analytica was using data harvested from Facebook users without their consent, according to the class action lawsuit. This activity was ultimately connected with the 2016 presidential election.

Conditi asks the Court to find Instagram’s conduct unlawful and to award injunctive relief; statutory, actual, compensatory, consequential, punitive and nominal damages; pre- and post-judgment interest; reasonable attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses; and any other relief deemed appropriate.

She also demands a jury trial.

Do you believe Instagram violates privacy laws? Are you concerned that Instagram may be monitoring your smartphone data? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by Mark N. Todzo of Lexington Law Group and Christian Levis, Amanda Fiorilla and Anthony M. Christina of Lowey Dannenberg PC.

The Instagram Smartphone Data Monitoring Class Action Lawsuit is Brittany Conditi, et al. v. Instagram LLC, et al., Case No. 3:20-cv-06534-AGT, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco/Oakland Division.

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